Ernie Anastos

Ernie Anastos (July 12, 1943 – March 12, 2026) was an American Emmy award-winning television news anchor and talk show host on WABC (770 AM) with Positively Ernie focusing on uplifting stories and interviews. He was also a children’s author and host of his own nationally syndicated TV show, Positively America. He most visibly anchored the evening news at four flagship network stations in New York: UPN 9 (now My9), ABC 7, CBS 2, and FOX 5. In 2017, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio honored Anastos by designating every March 21 to be Ernie Anastos Day.

Anastos covered stories including the September 11 attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. He reported on Cuba under Fidel Castro in 2004 and interviewed US presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and South African bishop Desmond Tutu. He had broadcast ownership of AM and FM radio stations in New York State and New England. He was also the CEO of his own television production company creating entertainment programming. He launched an Internet youth channel and also published newspapers and magazines. He performed on-camera roles as himself in Hollywood motion pictures such as Independence Day, Summer of Sam, Run All Night, and The Yards.

He was a Hall of Fame Broadcaster and received more than 30 Emmy awards and nominations, including "Best Newscast in New York" and the Edward R. Murrow Award for broadcast excellence. The New York Times described him as "the ubiquitous anchorman." Anastos also was an author of career and educational books for young readers, and was furthermore distinguished for being the United States' first Greek-American news anchorman.