Bill Ritter, the 76-year-old WABC anchor who spent more than a quarter-century delivering the news to New York City, announced Friday that he is stepping down from the anchor chair after doctors diagnosed him with Alzheimer's disease.
"After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer's," Ritter told his audience, as the New York Post reported. He called it "early stage" and said treatments are "keeping it at bay. For now." But he did not sugarcoat what lies ahead.
"There is no guarantee, because there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's. So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and soon, tonight will be the last newscast I anchor."
The announcement closes one chapter of a career that stretched from Emmy-winning investigative reporting in San Diego to the anchor desk of one of the country's most-watched local news operations. It also opens a harder, more personal one, for Ritter, for his family, and for the millions of Americans contending with a disease that remains stubbornly without a definitive cure.
Ritter did not arrive at WABC's "Eyewitness News" as a polished studio personality. He earned his way there through shoe-leather reporting across California and then at the network level.
At San Diego's KNSD-TV, Ritter won four Emmy Awards for investigative work, including a 1987 investigation into safety protocols involving trainers and killer whales at Sea World of California and reporting on a 1989 stock scandal. He moved to KTTV-TV in Los Angeles from 1990 to 1991, then to KCAL-TV in 1992, where he covered the Los Angeles riots and the Rodney King trial.
In 1993, Ritter launched his relationship with ABC News, co-anchoring "Good Morning America Sunday." By 1997 he was a "20/20" correspondent. He joined WABC in June 1998 and took over the 11 p.m. news from Bill Beutel in 1999.
Over the decades that followed, Ritter reported on some of the biggest stories in the country and in the city, the OJ Simpson legal proceedings, the death of Princess Diana, the Central Park assaults, and the death of Leiby Kletzky among them. One unnamed source described him as "everything you want in a New York City anchor." That kind of tenure in a single market is rare in an industry that chews through talent.
The kind of career Ritter built, long, local, rooted in a community, stands in contrast to the revolving-door departures that have become routine in institutions across media, government, and public life. Ritter stayed. He did the work. And he left only when the disease forced the question.
Ritter, a father of three with a grandson on the way, framed his decision in plainspoken terms. He said spending more time with his family "has now become even more important, because my life has taken a turn."
He did not dwell on self-pity. He closed his final broadcast with a message to viewers:
"I'm going to so miss reporting the news to all of you with the truth and the facts no matter where they fall. It has been my honor to do just that, but for now, I wish you health and peace and let's take care of each other."
That line, "the truth and the facts no matter where they fall", is worth pausing on. It is the kind of commitment that used to be assumed of anyone sitting behind a news desk. Today, it sounds almost quaint, given how many anchors and outlets have traded straight reporting for ideological performance.
WABC General Manager Marilu Galvez said Ritter will not disappear entirely. He will remain part of the ABC7 family and continue reporting on "Eyewitness News," with a focus on Alzheimer's, sharing personal updates and providing resources for others affected by the disease.
Galvez praised Ritter's record in a statement:
"For decades, Bill Ritter has covered and led New Yorkers through the stories that matter most. A defining presence at ABC7, he has done so with exceptional insight, integrity, and, most of all, heart, earning the love and respect of viewers and colleagues alike."
She added: "Bill is strong, brilliant and resourceful, and we look forward to his continued reporting on Eyewitness News."
The decision to keep Ritter involved rather than simply sending him off with a farewell reel is a decent one. Ritter himself pointed to the station's desire to "dig deeper into the rising tide of Alzheimer's and other similar diseases and infected patients and their families, how the price of treatment and the price of caring for patients is simply unaffordable, and how this might begin to change all that." That is a beat worth covering, and one that hits closer to home every year for American families.
Alzheimer's is not a partisan issue. It does not check voter registration cards. But the policy failures surrounding it, the cost of care, the sluggish pace of drug development, the burden on families, are fair game for anyone who believes government and the health-care system owe the public honest accounting.
Ritter's own words underline the gap. He described his treatments as holding the disease at bay "for now," but acknowledged there is "no guarantee" and "no cure yet." For millions of families navigating the same reality, those words land hard. The cost of Alzheimer's care remains, as Ritter put it, "simply unaffordable" for many patients and their loved ones.
Serious health diagnoses affecting public figures have drawn national attention in recent months. A Republican congressman's terminal diagnosis prompted a public conversation about the medical resources available to elected officials and ordinary citizens alike. Ritter's case adds another dimension: a well-known figure choosing transparency over silence, stepping forward rather than fading quietly.
The signs of change had already appeared before Friday's announcement. Ritter stepped away from the 11 p.m. slot in March 2025, moving to the 6 p.m. broadcast alongside co-anchor Liz Cho. Whether that shift was connected to his health was not addressed in his statement, but the timeline is notable.
Ritter's willingness to go public with his diagnosis, rather than citing vague personal reasons, is the kind of straightforward honesty that builds trust. It is also the kind of decision that takes real nerve. Other high-profile figures who have walked away from careers at unexpected moments have faced speculation and second-guessing. Ritter preempted that by telling viewers exactly what was happening and why.
There is something worth noting about how Ritter handled this. He did not make it about politics. He did not turn his final broadcast into a soapbox. He told the truth, thanked the audience, and said he wanted to spend time with his family, including the grandson on the way.
That kind of exit is rare enough in public life to deserve recognition. When public figures leave the stage suddenly, the circumstances are often chaotic, contested, or tragic. Ritter chose to leave with clarity and composure, on his own terms, while he still could.
He told viewers he would miss reporting "the truth and the facts no matter where they fall." In an era when trust in media is at historic lows, and often for good reason, that line is a reminder of what local news can be when the people behind the desk take the job seriously.
Bill Ritter earned his goodbye. The harder question is whether the institutions and systems around Alzheimer's care will earn the trust of the families who don't get to say theirs on television.
