New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL has announced the retirement of longtime anchor Dennis Woltering.
Woltering, who will step down at the end of May, started at WWL in 1977 as a weekend anchor and reporter. He left in 1984 to work at WCAU in Philadelphia but returned to WWL in 1994.
“Dennis not only represents the best of what WWL-TV stands for, he represents the best of what it means to be a journalist,” Tod Smith, WWL president and GM said in a statement.
“There were indications that they wanted to sort of go in a different direction,” Woltering told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “It was just the time. Last year when Angela [Hill] left, she said, ‘It’s time.’ And if it was time for her, it was way past time for me.”
“It wasn’t that we went in and said, ‘Dennis, we need you to retire,'” Smith told Times-Picayune. “That wasn’t the case. It certainly was Dennis’ decision, and I respect that.”
“I’ll probably have some kind of little commentary at the end,” Smith said. “The station has been great to me. I’ve really had an extraordinary time here. They’ve given me so much opportunity. I really am grateful to this station, and for the people I’ve worked with.” He added, “I’ve had an extraordinary career here. I’m a very lucky person.”