Ernie Anastos, one of New York’s most recognized and trusted television news anchors, passed away Thursday morning at the age of 82.
CBS 2 reported that the cause of death was pneumonia, and he died at Northern Westchester Hospital, according to his wife.
Fox 5 released a formal statement Thursday afternoon confirming the loss.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Ernie Anastos, who died at the age of 82,” the network said.
“An Emmy Award-winning journalist and beloved former Fox 5 news anchor, his voice, integrity, and lasting impact on New York journalism will never be forgotten.”
Anastos built one of the most decorated careers in New York broadcast history, accumulating 30 Emmy Awards and nominations across his decades on air.
Among his top honors was the Lifetime Emmy Award, one of the most prestigious distinctions in television journalism.
His on-air career took him through some of the most defining moments in American history, including his coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anastos was a proud Greek-American whose broadcasting career began at ABC 7 in New York in 1978, where he remained until 1989.
He then moved to CBS 2, before transitioning to WWOR in 1997. He returned to CBS in 2001, according to records from the New York State Broadcasters Association.
In 2005, Anastos signed with Fox 5 NY, where he became a fixture of the channel’s nightly news programming, anchoring alongside co-anchor Rosanna Scotto.
That partnership at Fox 5 lasted until around 2020, when Anastos departed to pursue leadership management coursework at Harvard Business School.
Even after stepping away from nightly television, Anastos remained active in media. He was working as a host at 77WABC radio in the period leading up to his death.
Just days before his passing, Anastos posted a video to Instagram on March 3 in which he spoke about the importance of truth.
“We have to teach truth in our homes and in our schools, wherever we have that opportunity,” he stated. “I think we all have to sit back and say let’s stand up for truth and support it and make sure that we live it on a day-to-day basis.”
Walter Cronkite was among those Anastos cited as a personal hero throughout his career, reflecting the traditional journalism values he carried throughout his professional life.
The New York State Broadcasters Association honored him with an induction into its Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy among the state’s most influential broadcast figures.
Early in his career, Anastos faced pressure to abandon his Greek surname.
A supervisor at a Boston radio station asked whether he would object to being called Ernie Andrews. A superior at a Rhode Island television station suggested the name Keith Andrews.
“Ethnic names were not all that hot,” Anastos recalled in a 2010 New York Times profile.
He held firm and kept his name — a decision that became part of his identity throughout a career spanning multiple generations of New York viewers.
Tributes from colleagues poured in following the announcement of his death.
Rosanna Scotto, his longtime Fox 5 co-anchor, remembered him warmly on Facebook.
“I enjoyed working with him, anchoring alongside of him on the 10 o’clock news. He was a good man and someone we really looked up to,” she wrote. “We are all heartbroken.”
Former Fox 5 colleague Teresa Priolo described Anastos as the “heart of our newsroom.”
In a Facebook post, Priolo wrote: “I’m here to confirm, every single good thing you will hear and read about this man is true. And then some. Times 10.”
She added: “He was the gold standard in life and in this crazy news business.”
