Bill Worden announced his retirement after 35 years as the evening anchor for the Utica, NY, NBC affiliate WKTV.
Worden told viewers at the end of the 6 p.m. news he would not be slowing down, “Retiring? Shuffling around in slippers? I don’t think so,” Worden said. “I’ve actually joined a band.”
“Bill Worden is the kind of respected journalist who makes NBC mean something,” said Steve Capus, president of NBC News. “The network, after all is a collection of cities and small towns across this great country, and there is no doubt, in Central New York, Bill has represented NBC with distinction. We wish him the best after 35 remarkable years.”
Worden began working for WKTV in 1977 as the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. anchor. He later added the 10 pm. news to his duties. The longtime anchor even served as the station’s news director at one time.
“For more than three decades, Bill has been a fixture in Central New Yorkers’ homes. Tens of thousands of local residents have grown up watching Bill deliver the biggest stories that helped shape this region,” said Steve McMurray, station manager and news director at WKTV. “He is not just a newscaster, he’s an institution—one that I’ve been fortunate to watch, learn from, and work alongside. I wish Bill many happy years in retirement. We are all better off for his time at NewsChannel 2.”
Worden’s first TV job was with KTVH (now KWCH), the CBS affiliate in Wichita, KS, in 1971. He also worked at WTVN (now WSYX) in Columbus, OH.
His last newscast will be the 6 p.m. news on Thursday November 29. The station plans to announce his successor early next week.
You can read a story about his career on the station website, click the link here to view.