{"id":9363,"date":"2025-06-03T00:04:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9363"},"modified":"2025-06-03T00:04:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:04:13","slug":"bill-ritter-steps-down-from-wabc-5-p-m-eyewitness-news-after-historic-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9363","title":{"rendered":"Bill Ritter steps down from WABC 5 p.m. \u2018Eyewitness News\u2019 after historic run"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Veteran anchor Bill Ritter has officially stepped down from his role as co-anchor of WABC-TV\u2019s 5 p.m. edition of Eyewitness News, with reporter and anchor Mike Marza set to take over the position starting June 3, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Ritter made the announcement during the June 2 broadcast, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, including his newborn granddaughter. Though stepping down from the early evening slot, Ritter will continue his roles at the station \u2014 co-anchoring the 6 p.m. newscast alongside Liz Cho and hosting the Sunday morning public affairs program Up Close.<\/p>\n<p>This move marks the second major change in WABC\u2019s anchor lineup this year. In March, Ritter also stepped away from anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast, a spot now held by Mike Marza and Sade Baderinwa.<\/p>\n<p>Ritter is the longest-tenured co-anchor of the 5 p.m. broadcast in WABC history. He emphasized during the announcement that his connection to the station and its journalism is strong, calling it \u201cin [his] DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mike Marza, previously a weekend evening anchor and ABC News correspondent, expressed gratitude for the opportunity and acknowledged Ritter as a mentor. Colleagues have praised Ritter for his decades-long impact in the newsroom and his commitment to quality journalism.<\/p>\n<p>With Marza stepping into the 5 p.m. slot, WABC continues to evolve its Eyewitness News team while honoring the legacy of one of its most recognizable figures.<\/p>\n<p>The transition reflects a broader shift in local news as veteran anchors make way for a new generation of journalists while staying connected to the communities they\u2019ve served for years.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veteran anchor Bill Ritter has officially stepped down from his role as co-anchor of WABC-TV\u2019s 5 p.m. edition of Eyewitness News, with reporter and anchor Mike Marza set to take over the position starting June 3, 2025. Ritter made the announcement during the June 2 broadcast, citing a desire to spend more time with his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9363\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}