WIVB's Jacquie Walker dropping anchor duties in late May (2024)

Jacquie Walker, the longest serving news anchor at one television station in Western New York history, is leaving the anchor desk at WIVB-TV on May 22 but will continue to work on special projects for the station.

The announcement was made to the station’s staff Tuesday afternoon by General Manager Joe Abouzeid.

Walker’s decision is not a surprise; she dropped the 11 p.m. newscast in January 2023, which she conceded at the time was the first step toward retirement.

She intended to retire in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and former GM Brien Kennedy changed her mind.

“He said, ‘This is the worst time for you to leave. Not only for me, but for what we do. We keep people informed.’ If you recall that time, there was so much uncertainty,” she said. “People were scared. We were wiping down our groceries. We didn’t know what to think. News and information became very, very valuable to people.

“I had so many people reach out to me at that time … who were so happy that I was there because I was a familiar face. I was someone they knew, someone they believed, someone they trusted.

“I really felt that was such an important part of my career to be there for people. So, we put off retirement, and as it turns out, I’m glad we did. From my view, covering the pandemic was the single most important story of my career. It changed so many lives. It changed mine. It kept me working.”

She now is ready to step away from a Monday through Friday schedule of anchoring the 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. newscasts to give her more flexibility to spend time with her husband of 39 years, Mike Beato; her children; and too many community projects to list.

A breast cancer survivor, the list includes an association with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“Like everybody else, I am in a footrace with Father Time and Mother Nature,” Walker said of her decision to drop regular anchor duties. “They are going to win, but I’m going to give them a heck of a run for their money in the meantime. I have so many things that I want to do, and primarily, I need flexibility.”

However, she isn’t ready to completely stop working and will remain a part-time employee working on special projects, conducting interviews and working on community activities and charities that she and her husband support. She also may pop up occasionally on the anchor desk.

“Jacquie has epitomized what it means to be a professional for the past 40 years,” Abouzeid said in an email. “Her work both on TV and in the community is unparalleled. Although in a different capacity, we are thrilled she will continue to be working at News 4 and in our community.”

She has no set hours and may not work at all some weeks, depending on her and the station’s wishes. Why not cut the cord entirely?

“I am a newsperson through and through,” she said. “I can’t get through a day without thinking of several stories.”

She has been doing just that for 40 years at Channel 4, overtaking former WKBW-TV (Channel 7) anchor Keith Radford and the late Channel 7 Irv Weinstein for longevity at one station.

Along the way, she has earned 23 Emmy nominations and several broadcasting awards, perhaps most notably entering the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

She inherited her love and thirst for news from her late father, Glen, a World War II veteran, while she was growing up in Michigan.

“When I grew up, when (legendary CBS News anchor) Walter Cronkite came on with the news, everybody stopped and listened,” said Walker. “If you were riding in the car and the radio news came on, everybody had to be quiet and listen. My father would read newspapers. He had news magazines delivered to the house. He would read them cover to cover. There was a great value placed on news and information in my home as I grew up.”

She walked into a huge story when she arrived at WIVB in 1983 from WROC-TV in Rochester after starting her career at a station in Springfield, Ill.

“My first major story here was the closing of Bethlehem Steel,” she said. “I was assigned to do its history. Here I had just walked in the door and, all of a sudden, I have this daunting task.”

Now she has the daunting task of putting her career in perspective in a series of stories that are planned to run during her last work week in May.

“I’ve been working on this for months because it’s so difficult to do,” she said.

She is looking back at the major stories from the closing of Bethlehem Steel to the rise of Canalside and the construction of the new Bills stadium.

“Because of my role as a main anchor, I’ve had a front-row seat to all the stories that have affected Western New York in the past 40 years,” she said. “In looking at what I saved from that time, I think viewers will appreciate seeing what we’ve been through together over these past 40 years.”

The major pieces in the works include the biggest stories, the celebrities and the four Bills Super Bowls she’s covered; her extensive community involvement with local charities; and her favorite stories.

She plans to address viewers on her final regular broadcast.

“I’ll have a thank you to viewers because so much of this is about gratitude. When you’re sitting where I’m sitting, you realize how lucky and grateful I am to have been allowed to be at one station, in one position, with the opportunities that I’ve had for the last 40 years.”

Now she has the flexibility to have the opportunity to do something she has been unable to do for years with eight classmates from Michigan State University.

“They’ve always had a reunion every couple of years,” said Walker. “I’ve never been able to go because of my work schedule. I just booked going for the first time ever in the fall. I am thrilled about it. And they’re astounded.”