Longtime ABC7 New York anchor Bill Ritter announced live on air Friday that he is stepping down from his role as lead anchor of Eyewitness News after being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
Ritter, 76, has anchored the station's 6 p.m. broadcast since 2001 and has been a familiar face in New York households since joining WABC-TV in 1998. During Friday's newscast, he shared the news directly with viewers in a message that was both candid and deeply personal.
"After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer's," Ritter said. "It's early-stage Alzheimer's, and they say the treatments I'm getting are keeping it at bay for now, but there is no guarantee, because there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's."
Ritter said the decision was tied to a desire to spend more time with his growing family, including his first grandchild and a second on the way this summer. He also revealed that his own father died of Alzheimer's in 1998, a loss that has shaped years of advocacy work for Alzheimer's awareness alongside colleague Mike Marza.
While Ritter is leaving the anchor desk, ABC7 confirmed he will remain part of the news team, focusing on stories about Alzheimer's and the resources available to families facing the disease.
Closing his final broadcast, Ritter reflected on his decades of reporting "with the truth, and with facts, no matter where they fall," before offering viewers a simple blessing: a wish for health, peace, and a reminder to take care of one another.
For families walking through similar seasons of caregiving and loss, Ritter's openness offers a quiet reminder that hope, dignity, and community can carry us through even the hardest diagnoses - values at the heart of faith and family alike.
