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Ernie Anastos leaves FOX 5 NY for Harvard | Tribute to a New York TV Legend

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Published  June 16, 2020 4:22pm EDT
New York City
FOX 5 NY

A Tribute to Ernie Anastos

Ernie Anastos is leaving FOX 5 News after more than 15 years. The New York news legend is heading to Harvard Business School. This is but a brief look at how much he has meant to New York City in his long and storied career in broadcast news.

NEW YORK - After a long and celebrated career in New York broadcast news, FOX 5 NY anchor Ernie Anastos is ready to begin a new chapter. He is enrolling in a leadership management program at the Harvard Business School.

Ernie has been at FOX 5 NY for more than 15 years, investing those years in telling the stories of real New Yorkers. He will be greatly missed.

"Positively Ernie"—the nickname was easy to come up with because you can't stop smiling around this legend. his excitement for all things is as contagious as his enthusiasm.

Ernie Anastos on set

Ernie was born in New Hampshire but found New York City his home and over the next 40 years connected with the people of this city as one of the most iconic news anchors of our time.

Work isn't always easy in the news. And Ernie has been in the thick of our city's tough times. But no matter how devastating and disastrous an event, he always finds a way to focus on empowering people.

Ernie Anastos and Rosanna Scotto

"When I go out to report on a story or cover it, I'm always thinking about the impact it has on an individual and a group of people," Ernie says. "This is how I have the sensitivity of caring about it but at the same time putting it in perspective with a positive attitude. It's somewhere along the line there is a silver lining."

That silver lining became our 6 o'clock newscast. And Ernie was more than the anchorman but the inspiration. He pioneered a new brand of news balancing events of the day with positive, well-meaning stories we should all be talking about.

Ernie Anastos and some kids outside the station

"We have to reward good behavior—the things that are happening in people's lives, the positive stories that deserve that kind of equal attention," Ernie says.

Ernie earned the attention and respect through the years with his work on and off the air, constantly engaged in communities across the city. He even found time to write a children's book called Ernie and the Big Newz.

Ernie Anastos and some smiling New Yorkers

The mayor declared March 21 Ernie Anastos Day. Our friend even earned praise from Walter Cronkite, known to be the most trusted man in America, who called him "the greatest."

And that's how we feel about him. More than 30 Emmy awards and nominations. Indelible friendships. More than 15 years at FOX 5. Saying goodbye to a legend is hard.

So to be clear, this is not a goodbye but a "See you soon, Ernie."