Wendy Rieger anchors News4 at 5, the No. 1 newscast in Washington at 5 p.m.
Rieger joined News4 in 1988 as a general assignment reporter, mostly covering breaking news for News4 at 11 p.m. She began anchoring the weekend evening newscasts in 1996, then News4 at 5 in 2001.
Before her career in television, Rieger’s voice and writing style established her as a rising star in radio. A short tenure as a writer at WAMU, Washington’s NPR station, led to a stint as host of the station’s Morning Edition. She later anchored newscasts for NPR and WTOP Radio. Her television career began in CNN’s Washington Bureau.
Aside from anchoring, Rieger has established herself as a solid reporter. For many years, her Going Green segments were so popular that NBC stations across the country aired them during their newscasts and inspired a series on NBC Nightly News. The idea for this weekly segment came from a story Rieger did in 2005 about a woman who became allergic to her own house and the eco-ways she found to counteract her bad reactions. In April 2008, Washingtonian magazine readers presented Rieger with one of its inaugural Green Awards in recognition of her dedication to “preserving our environment through education.”
Rieger has received three Emmy Awards, including one for a special report she shot in Vietnam on home video 20 years after the war.
A native of Norfolk, Rieger graduated from American University with a degree in broadcast journalism. Her community involvement has spanned many local organizations, including those dedicated to fighting cancer, protecting animals and promoting human rights. She joined her NBC4 colleagues in participating in three DC AIDS Rides.
Rieger and her cat Nina live in the Annapolis area.
Send Wendy Rieger an email. You can also catch some of the lighter moments on News4, which include Wendy, on the station's Facebook page.
