Ernie Anastos, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and longtime New York television news anchor, died on March 11 at the age of 82. His family confirmed the news of his death to WABC. His work spanned nearly 5 decades, during which he worked for ABC 7 in New York, CBS 2, Fox 5 and UPN 9 (now My9).
Announcing Ernie Anastos’ death, WABC anchor Bill Ritter said during the March 12 broadcast, “He was a news legend in New York and throughout the tri-state. He was also a news legend here at Channel 7 Eyewitness News. We remember him tonight,” adding, “He was something unique and regardless of your politics.”
As a renowned anchor, he has covered several major events, including the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. He has even interviewed three US presidents, including Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton.
Ernie Anastos, who left a lasting impact on New York journalism, described what being an anchor meant to him in an interview with Bill Ritter: “They’ll tell you maybe a comment you’d make, something very personal. Something that makes you really understand that they were watching this thing. They weren’t just scrolling through, they were just passing by. They sat down and paid attention to what you were about.”
Born in New Hampshire
Ernie Anastos was born on July 12, 1943 in Nashua, New Hampshire and graduated from Northeastern University with a BA in Sociology. After graduation, he worked as a reporter at WRKO and WROR in Boston before joining WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island as an anchor. In June 1978 he began working for WABC-TV in New York. After spending eleven years with the station, he took over as anchor anchor of WCBS-TV in May 1989.
While anchoring and hosting various projects between 1995 and 2000, Anastos became involved in radio and television broadcasting ownership. A prolific journalist, he received several honorary doctorates. He has been awarded honorary degrees by Manhattanville College, Marist College, Sacred Heart University, and the New York Institute of Technology.
For his exceptional work, he won several awards during his lifetime, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce New Yorker of the Year, the National Father of the Year Award, the Emmy Lifetime Award, and the Edward R Murrow Award for Outstanding Writing. That’s in addition to 30 Emmys and nominations.
Owner of Saratoga Springs, New York-based radio station WJKE, Anastos purchased several other stations in the New York state capital and later entered the Eastern New England media market.
