John Roland, a reporter and anchor for Channel 5 in New York for more than three decades, died on May 7, 2023, at the age of 81, of complications from a stroke He was 81.
Roland began his broadcasting career in the 1960s, working for NBC News in Los Angeles and covering high-profile events such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the Charles Manson trial.
In 1969, he joined WNEW-TV in New York City. Roland worked as a weekday political reporter and weekend anchor on New York’s Channel 5 for nearly three decades, beginning as a weekday political reporter and weekend anchor in 1969.
He covered politics during the week and anchored the 10 p.m. newscast on weekends before taking over the flagship 10 p.m. weeknight edition from Bill Jorgensen in 1979.
After about ten years, the reporter became Fox 5’s nightly news anchor, a position he held until his retirement in 2004.
Throughout his tenure, his presence on the nightly news desk remained constant as he anchor alongside numerous colleagues.