Ernie Anastos was a familiar face for New York City television viewers for more than 40 years.
Photo Courtesy of Ernie Anastos
Ernie Anastos, the beloved local news anchor for three different networks during his career, has died at the age of 82, it was reported.
ABC7, where Anastos became famous in New York after spending 11 years in the Eyewitness News afternoon and evening anchor chair during the late 1970s and much of the 1980s, first broke the news of his death Thursday afternoon.
A native of New Hampshire, Anastos got his start in broadcasting shortly after graduating from Boston’s Northeastern University with a degree in sociology. He began working as a news reporter for WRKO and WROR in Boston, then moved over to WPRI-TV in Providence, where he got his break as a news anchor.
Anastos joined WABC-TV in 1978 and would serve as an Eyewitness News anchor for 11 years. In 1989, he moved down the dial to Channel 2, WCBS-TV, where he served in the anchor’s chair through the mid-1990s. After a brief hiatus, he returned as CBS2’s anchor in 2001, and helped lead the network’s local coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Four years later, Anastos was on the move again — this time to Fox5, WNYW, where he became the anchor of the 5 and 10 O’Clock News.
Away from the camera, Anastos built a prolific business portfolio, purchasing or investing in several local radio stations in upstate New York under his Anastos Media Group company. He left the Fox5 anchor chair in 2019 to enroll at Harvard Business School and take leadership and management courses.
Most recently, Anastos remained active in local broadcasting, launching his own nationally syndicated radio show “Positively America” on WABC-AM radio. The show aimed to promote positive stories to inspire and educate the audience.
He appeared to have one final broadcast on his social media page on March 3. In a video, Anastos spoke about the importance of truth in journalism and the need to protect it.