81-year-old John Roland, legendary New York newscaster, dies 2023
John Roland, 81, died Sunday, Fox 5 reported.
After joining Channel 5 in 1969 as a daily political reporter and weekend anchor, Roland anchored the 10 p.m. program for over three decades.
After 10 years, the reporter became Fox 5’s nightly news anchor, retiring in 2004.
He anchored alongside Rosanna Scotto in the 1990s on the evening news desk.
Scotto stated Roland taught him news fairness. I sensed his enthusiasm and regard for his regular audience.
According to Fox 5, Roland gave New Yorkers “his frank delivery and his compassion” whether it was a tranquil day or a chaotic disaster like 9/11.
Scotto said sitting next to John was always a lesson. “He was proud of his writing and plain-spokenness. Anchoring close to him after 9/11 was the clearest example.”
In the 1960s, the Pittsburgh-born journalist worked for NBC in California before joining KTTV in Los Angeles.
Fox 5 said that he covered the Robert F. Kennedy assassination and Charles Manson Trial.
In December 1969, he moved to New York to work for KTTV’s sister station, Fox 5 News, which Fox would ultimately buy.
Roland also made headlines.
He challenged armed thieves who entered the old Racing Club, a restaurant across from Fox 5 studios, where he and a buddy were enjoying dinner in 1983.
According to the station, Roland fought one of the three thieves and shot him in the leg before being shot in the head by the other two.
Five years later, he was momentarily suspended for letting his “emotions prevail over objectivity” after an on-air dispute with Joyce Brown, a homeless mentally ill woman who the Koch administration forcefully hospitalized.
