Ernie Anastos is a former American news anchor. He formerly anchored the news at 6 p.m. on WNYW in New York City. He was formerly the anchor of the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Fox 5 News with Dari Alexander. In 2017, New York City MayorBill DeBlasio honored Anastos by designating every March 21 to be Ernie Anastos Day. Anastos is a Hall of Fame Broadcaster and has won more than 30 Emmy awards and nominations, including "Best Newscast in New York" and the Edward R. Murrow Award for broadcast excellence. The New York Times recently described him as "the ubiquitous anchorman."
Career
After graduating from Northeastern University, Anastos worked as a newsman at 98.5/WROR in Boston, as Ernie Andrews. In 1976, Anastos moved to television, becoming an anchor at WPRI-TV in Providence. In June 1978, WABC-TV in New York hired Anastos and he became anchor of the 11:00 pm Eyewitness News broadcast in November, a position that opened when Larry Kane left the station after one year and returned to Philadelphia. He anchored that broadcast with Rose Ann Scamardella until 1983 and later replaced Storm Field as Kaity Tong's co-anchor at 5:00 pm. Except for a brief period beginning in 1983 when WABC hired Tom Snyder to be anchor, Anastos helmed the 5:00 and 11:00 pm newscasts until 1989, co-anchoring at 5 and 11 with Tong and Roz Abrams at 5 from 1986 to 1989. Anastos left WABC to take an anchor position at WCBS-TV, beginning June 12, 1989. He was brought in as a replacement for Mike Schneider, who had left to join ABC News, for the station's early evening and 11:00 pm newscasts and eventually supplanted Jim Jensen as WCBS' lead anchor. Anastos left WCBS in mid-1994 to join NewsTalk Television, a fledgeling cable operation owned by Multimedia Communications. Shortly thereafter he began hosting a gardening show on Lifetime, called Our Home. In 1997, Anastos returned to the anchor desk and was hired by WWOR-TV to replace Sean Mooney as co-anchor of its 10:00 pm newscast. Four years later he was back at WCBS, brought in to replace Stephen Clark as the lead anchor. He left for second time in 2005, after signing a five-year, $10 million contract with WNYW-TV. At Fox 5, he was partnered with Rosanna Scotto, from 2005-2009 for the news at 5 and 10p.m. until Scotto was moved to Co-host Good Day New York with Greg Kelly. It was announced that Dari Alexander would anchor with Anastos on the 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. On July 2, 2012, he was moved off the 10 p.m. newscast and replaced by Good Day New York cohost Greg Kelly, who has since moved back to his prior role and been replaced by Steve Lacy. In June 2014, Ernie became the Anchor of the 6pm newscast, leaving the 5pm newscast with Dari Alexander, having Steve Lacy fill the position. Anastos has anchored coverage of the World Trade Center attacks. He also traveled to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro reporting on the 45th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. He covered Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor's official trip to El Salvador and Nicaragua, and reported on the death and funeral of Princess Diana from London. Anastos also was nominated for an Emmy for his reporting on the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. from the site of his plane crash near Cape Cod. Anastos has worked as a news anchor and reporter for CBS This Morning, CBS Late News, and substitute host for ABC's Good Morning America. Anastos has become well known for a pair of gaffes on live television. In 2007, he directed viewers to visit "myfoxny don cock" instead of "myfoxny dot com", which is the website for WNYW. Then in 2009, following meteorologist Nick Gregory's weather forecast one evening where he made a joke playing off an old Perdue Farms advertising campaign, Anastos said, live on the air, "It takes a tough man to make a tender forecast, Nick. Keep fucking that chicken." Anastos appeared in season eight, episode 10 of the television show 24. He has been on air since the mid 1970s. In 2014, he joined the board of trustees at New York Institute of Technology.
Writing
Anastos authored a book on the lifestyles of youth in America. His book, Twixt: Teens Yesterday and Today, traces American teenagers' influence on social and political attitudes. He has also been a regular columnist for Family Circle.
Awards
He has won 28 Emmy Awards and nominations, and was nominated for the Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in writing. He has been profiled in the International Who's Who of Intellectuals. A Phi Kappa Phi honoree, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern University in Boston, where he is a member of the university board. He has additional graduate studies at Columbia University and holds an honorary doctorate degree. In May 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Manhattanville College. On March 21, 2017, Ernie was honored by New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, to have March 21 named Ernie Anastos Day in New York City.
Radio ownership
A Saratoga Springs, New York-based radio station WJKE. The partnership, known as the Anastos Media Group, soon bought several other stations in the Capital District of New York State and later entered the eastern New England media market. The daily operations of the group were handled in part by Anastos' daughter Nina. Effective September 7, 2012, the stations—WABY, WQAR, WUAM and its translator W291BY, and WVKZ—were sold to Empire Broadcasting Corporation for $1.2 million.
