Veteran WABC anchor Bill Ritter steps down after early Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Bill Ritter, one of the longest-serving news anchors in the United States, announced live over the weekend that he is retiring from his anchor role at WABC-TV after being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Ritter said he has undergone a series of tests, and doctors told him the treatments he is receiving are slowing the illness for now, but he stressed there is no guarantee because there is still no cure. He added that unless a breakthrough arrives soon, the broadcast that night would be his final newscast as an anchor.

Ritter said he is not leaving journalism or the station where he has worked for 28 years. Instead, he will remain a reporter at WABC and focus on a new, personal assignment covering Alzheimer’s and related diseases. That work will include reporting on how the illness affects patients and families, examining the high costs of treatment and nursing care in the United States, and looking at what the country can do to address the problem. He also said he will continue mentoring younger journalists in the newsroom.

The 76-year-old said his father died of Alzheimer’s in 1998, and that he has since become an outspoken advocate for awareness and the fight against the disease. Ritter joined WABC-TV in 1998 after a long career in print and broadcast journalism, including work at the Los Angeles Times. He began anchoring the station’s 11 p.m. newscast in October 1999 and later moved to the 6 p.m. edition.

WABC-TV CEO Marilu Galvez praised him as a trusted figure who guided New Yorkers through major stories with integrity, insight and heart. In a personal letter, Ritter thanked his wife, Kathleen, and his children, saying their support is what is courageous, not his own, and closing with a wish for health, peace and mutual care.