{"id":338493,"date":"2026-09-05T00:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T00:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338493\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T00:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T00:30:20","slug":"wnbc-tv-cuts-veteran-investigative-reporter-and-longtime-new-york-fixture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338493\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBC-TV cuts veteran investigative reporter and longtime New York fixture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran New York investigative reporter Sarah Wallace is looking for a new home after WNBC eliminated her job<\/a> in a cost-cutting move \u2014 and she insists she isn\u2019t ready to hang up her notebook.<\/p>\n

Wallace, who spent about 11 years at NBC 4 after a three-decade run at rival WABC, said the Peacock station decided not to renew her contract<\/a> and eliminated her investigative reporter position for financial reasons.<\/p>\n

When reached by The Post on Friday, the longtime television personality said that the station\u2019s decision was unexpected.<\/p>\n

Veteran investigative reporter Sarah Wallace is looking for a new platform after WNBC eliminated her position following an 11-year run at the station. FilmMagic<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a surprise,\u201d she said. \u201cI will say that, and I\u2019m disappointed, but I think \u2026 the landscape is changing, and I\u2019m excited about what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n

In announcing her departure Aug. 28, Wallace made a point to state: \u201cNo, I\u2019m not retiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

The longtime crime and corruption reporter said she is now searching for \u201cthe right platform\u201d to continue her investigative work.<\/p>\n

Wallace says she isn\u2019t retiring after WNBC declined to renew her contract. Getty Images<\/p>\n

According to an internal WNBC memo obtained by The Post and confirmed by a station spokesperson, management told staff that the decision not to renew Wallace\u2019s contract and eliminate her position was tied to \u201clong-term financial planning.\u201d <\/p>\n

The move \u201cwas very difficult, but also necessary as we look at our long-term financial planning,\u201d WNBC General Manager Eric Lerner wrote in the Aug. 21 memo. <\/p>\n

He praised Wallace as \u201ca remarkable reporter and a terrific person,\u201d citing her work on major Tri-State stories and investigations that, he wrote, \u201cresulted in the exonerations of several wrongfully convicted men.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a note included in the same memo, Wallace called investigative reporting \u201cmy life\u2019s passion\u201d and thanked colleagues across the station for more than a decade of work together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe helped shed light on injustice \u2014 and brought justice to where it was long overdue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur work literally transformed lives, and we can all take great pride in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her exit prompted a warm sendoff from former WABC colleague Nina Pineda, who recalled sharing an office with Wallace before she jumped to Channel 4 in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow then people (I hope) still value the actual journalism you consistently delivered: Hard-hitting, rock-turning, speaking-truth-to-power accountability, giving voice-to-the-silenced kind of stories,\u201d Pineda wrote in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Pineda added that Wallace is \u201ca class act to be lauded\u201d and predicted the veteran reporter wouldn\u2019t stay sidelined for long.<\/p>\n

Wallace joined NBC 4 New York\u2019s I-Team in 2015 after a three-decade career at rival WABC. FilmMagic<\/p>\n

The journo\u2019s exit caps a New York television career stretching back more than four decades.<\/p>\n

She began reporting in the Big Apple in October 1984 and spent more than 30 years at WABC, where she was initially a consumer and investigative reporter and later anchored weekend newscasts for six years.<\/p>\n

Wallace joined WABC\u2019s investigative unit in 1998 and was identified as the station\u2019s chief investigative correspondent by 2001.<\/p>\n

Former WABC colleague Nina Pineda praised Sarah Wallace as a \u201cclass act\u201d and the \u201cG.O.A.T\u201d after the veteran investigative reporter announced her departure from WNBC.<\/p>\n

Among her most consequential investigations was her reporting on Anthony Faison and Charles Shepherd, two Brooklyn men imprisoned for a 1987 murder.<\/p>\n

Evidence uncovered by Wallace and private investigator Michael Race helped lead to their release in May 2001 after roughly 13 years behind bars.<\/p>\n

Wallace\u2019s long tenure at WABC ended abruptly in February 2015.<\/p>\n

News from me: I\u2019m not retiring! While WBNC and I have parted ways, I am still committed to telling investigative stories. More on my plans to come. pic.twitter.com\/FDlaoKmO1l<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sarah Wallace (@TVSarahWallace) August 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

She later sued the station, alleging gender and pay discrimination<\/a> and claiming her dismissal came after she developed information raising questions about a murder conviction.<\/p>\n

WABC denied the allegations, calling them baseless. Wallace subsequently dropped the lawsuit in January 2016, though an arbitrator ruled in her favor.<\/p>\n

Wallace declined to state how much she received as a result of the arbitrator\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

By then, Wallace had landed across town.<\/p>\n

WNBC announced in August 2015 that she was joining its I-Team, where her investigations continued to produce fallout well beyond the newsroom.<\/p>\n

The veteran reporter has won at least 19 Emmy Awards along with a Peabody Award and two Edward R. Murrow Awards.<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from WNBC.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t