Longtime WRC/NBC4 news anchor Doreen Gentzler announced today she will be retiring at the end of November.
“I have some personal news to share this evening,” Gentzler told her viewers on News4 at 6 on Friday. “It may cause me to get a little emotional, so I’ll just say it outright. I’ve decided to retire. Not an easy choice, but something I’ve been considering for a while ... I’ve been working here for more than half my life. The babies that I had during the '90s have grown up and moved out.”
Gentzler, a native of Arlington, Virginia, returned home to the Washington area in 1989 to join Jim Vance, Bob Ryan and George Michael on the WRC anchor desk. On her first newscast, Gentzler’s longtime co-anchor and close friend Jim Vance welcomed her by saying, “This is Doreen, folks. Doreen Gentzler. She’s going to be with us for quite a while.”
Thirty-three years later, it’s safe to say Vance was right.
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Gentzler has played a key role in the station’s ratings success, anchoring News4 at 6 and News4 at 11 through her entire tenure and reporting throughout the world, including in Bosnia and Ecuador and aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship. But she’s best known for her reporting in the D.C. area, where she has served as the station’s medical reporter for more than 30 years. Her clear, intelligent approach to telling these stories has provided important information, which some have called lifesaving.
In announcing Gentzler’s retirement, Vice President of News for WRC and WZDC Mike Goldrick said, “The phrase 'anchor' only scratches the surface of what Doreen has meant to us in the newsroom and to our viewers ... She has shown her empathy and kindness to generations of colleagues who have passed through our studio doors.”
Before joining WRC, Gentzler worked in newsrooms in Chattanooga, Charlotte, Cleveland and Philadelphia. During her career, she has won several Emmy Awards and has been recognized often for her work.
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“This was a hard decision …," Gentzler said when announcing her decision to her colleagues. "We’ve all been though a lot together, and I can’t be any prouder of this news team.”
