Like 13 Comments |. Doreen also serves as the stations on-air representative for the popular NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo, which takes place every January at the Washington Convention Center. She didnt yet register that her life had changed drastically. All Rights Reserved. As reporter Doreen Gentzler mentions, 'A crushing diagnosisglioblastoma is an aggressive and deadly brain cancer. The estimated net worth of Doreen is $ 835,612. Gentzler walked to her deskthe one right across from Vances. We knew his death had an impact on her at a really personal level, but somehow shes mustered the strength to be really strong for everyone else.. lawmakers push for new safety regulations after deadly Silver Spring apartment fire. They both had a terrific sense of humor.. Were moving on. , Its that seriousness of purpose that longtime Channel 4 reporter Tom Sherwood, then at theWashington Post,remembers well. Like WTOP on Facebook and follow WTOP on Twitter and Instagram to engage in conversation about this article and others. Yet Gentzler says she couldnt help but feel sad. Gentzler has played a key role in the stations ratings success, anchoring News4 at 6 and News4 at 11 through her entire tenure and reporting throughout the world, including in Bosnia and Ecuador and aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship. Since May of 2014, Doreen has been the lead reporter for Changing Minds, a station-wide project on mental health. She was born and brought up in Arlington, Virginia by her mother, Rita OFlinn, and father Ferris Gentzler. All the while, her coworkers, watching from behind the cameras, struggled not to cry. She is known for her medical reporting. Gentzler first worked at Cleveland, Ohio's NBC affiliate WKYC-TV.[when?] Channel 4s 6 pm broadcast struggled during the summer and dropped from number one. Though their desks were in the middle of the newsroomthey both liked to be amid the actionthey also shared an office outside it. She was at home in Chevy Chase and still asleep, a luxury the Channel 4 anchor allowed herself on Saturdays. He was loved by many of his viewers who were high school students and younger kids. Therefore, there is no doubt she has accumulated decent wealth over the years. Its difficult reporting on children in the crossfire, about hateful speech and behavior toward each other, about all the personal and political attacks, she said. She also reports on medical news for the channel, providing cutting-edge health stories for all of the newscasts. Before joining WRC, Gentzler worked in newsrooms in Chattanooga, Charlotte, Cleveland and Philadelphia. There Read More We needed a strong woman.. Doreen looks forward to sharing a weight loss success story on News4 at 5:00. The babies that I had during the '90s have grown up and moved out., Gentzler, a native of Arlington, Virginia, returned home to the Washington area in 1989 to join Jim Vance, Bob Ryan and George Michael on the WRC anchor desk. When she and Vance first met over dinner at La Ferme in Chevy Chase, nerves scissored through her. She anchored the news at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. Gentzler was raised in the Dominion Hills neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. Ive been working here for more than half my life now, she said on the air on Friday. Who is Emma Alberici? Ive decided to retire. Doreen Gentzler (born September 24, 1957[1]) is a retired American television news anchor . But now I have just a little more responsibility, I think, in carrying thatI dont know how to put this without sounding like a jerk . Boris Sanchez is a Cuban-born broadcast journalist. He works as the primary editor, producer, and anchor of KARE 11s Land of 10,000 Stories news segment, which has won multiple awards for photojournalism. She announced her retirement back in October, A uniquely American challenge: Group of local universities offer ideas to reduce gun violence, Report: DC area among cheapest rates for car insurance, DC boxing coach says role in Creed III was dream come true, Driver dies after tanker truck overturns, explodes near Frederick; northbound US-15 closed near crash site, Winds up to 50 mph expected to sweep DC region Saturday, Md. As the final member of the Jim-and-Doreen-and-George-and-Bob franchise that owned Washington news throughout the 90s and early aughts, Doreen Gentzler has unequivocally become the stations biggest star, the keeper of its legacy. The stations popularity endured until Vances death in 2017 after 48 years on the air and continued afterward as well. A lot of dominance is due to habits, Horlick explains. And how do you square reaching the zenith of your career while managing a grief intensely and irrevocably tied to that career? Because its TV, where the presenters are part of the story, she also talked about their friendship, how much they loved to make each other laugh. Then she signed off. Sadly, Vance died in July 2017, and Doreen led NBC4s on-air tributes. Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information, This was a hard decision ," Gentzler said when announcing her decision to her colleagues. trying not to get me upset. He relayed what he knew, which at the time was little. How do you mourn a work wife? His wife would elbow him and point at the testosterone-fueled panel and say, Do you see anything wrong with this picture?, It was painfully obvious that in spite of the immense talent . She told NBC Washington that she does not have a plan for what she will do next. He was previously serving as the Chief White House Correspondent and Pentagon correspondent of Fox News Channel. Not an easy choice but something Ive been considering for a while.. She has also made appearances as herself on NBC shows The Event and The Blacklist. Her bosses had informed her that she would anchor the segment on Vances death that evening. Gentzler is married to Bill Miller, a former reporter and editor at The Washington Post, who specialized in law enforcement coverage. She has written about her past life as an Ann Coulter fangirl, how the Obamas changed Washington, and the rise and fall of Roll Call. Doreen Gentzler, who co-anchored the most popular local TV newscast in Washington for over three decades, said Friday that she would retire next month, closing out a nearly unbroken reign as the areas most-watched journalist. She said she and Vance had different personalities, but they worked well together and made each other laugh. In many ways, things stayed the sameuntil, of course, the day they werent. Doreen Gentzler (@doreen.gentzler) Instagram photos and videos doreen.gentzler Verified Follow 495 posts 9,788 followers 484 following Doreen Gentzler Longtime TV news survivor; now exploring life without daily deadlines. It was early 1989, and Channel 4s general manager had been plugging away at the stations 11 pm lineup for two years with little to show for it. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Doreen Gentzler is an American broadcast journalist. Their longevity only served to cement their place at the top. Abigail Constantino | aconstantino@wtop.com. After they hired her, I got a call from [reporter] Pat Collins, and he said, Sherwood, we just hired a new anchor, and shes not a bimbo. , In short, the newscasts ratings shot up, in part because of good timing: Seven months into Gentzlers tenure, Mayor Barry was arrested on drug charges, and his first call to a reporter was to Vance. Vance and Gentzler confided in each other about personal matters, drama involving their spouses, or her two children and his three. Doreen Gentzler started her career as the anchor of Georgia Public Broadcasting's show 'The Lawmakers'. Watch Gentzler talking about her career delivering the news to the D.C. area. Those were some really, really fun times, Gentzler said. That was very difficult getting through both of those, Gentzler said. Gentzler had been Vances on-air partner and confidant for 28 of those years, half of a duo so dominant that Washingtonians referred to them simply as Jim and Doreen., She focused her mind that morning on George Michael, the channels late sportscaster. Gentzler made the announcement during the Friday night newscast, saying that it . lawmakers push for new safety regulations after deadly Silver Spring apartment fire. She made a full recovery, but soon discovered an even greater obstacle,a brain tumor. But not for Gentzler. Doreen is also the spokesperson for the stations health-related community outreach activities including the Fitness Expo and annual NBC4 Health. Stories that brim with optimism. Gentzler began her career as the host of Georgia Public Broadcasting's weeknight show The Lawmakers, broadcast during sessions of the Georgia State Legislature, around 1979. She also knows it's not the. NBC4s decades-long run atop the local news ratings began in 1989 after the stations then-general manager, Allan Horlick, hired Gentzler to share the anchor desk with Vance. Longtime NBC4 anchor Doreen Gentzler announces retirement. She has won several Emmy awards and has been lauded for her work. Shed give Vance advice, and hed groan, Goddammit, thats exactly what my wife said. Theyd bicker about why they were leading with the weather again. The station has not named a successor. . In an exit interview, Doreen offers some advice to her younger self. NBC4 Annouces Death of Jim Vance- Doreen Gentzler Part 3 of 3 24,760 views Jul 22, 2017 148 Dislike Share Save Swampthing4REAL 92 subscribers On 22 July 2017, the 6pm broadcast announces the. Abigail Constantino | aconstantino@wtop.com. Doreen Gentzler announced on Friday, she's retiring from Washington, D.C. NBC owned station WRC at the end of November. Copyright 2022 by WTOP. So she has nursed her sadness in bits and pieces. See something missing? News4 Your Health www.nbcwashington.com/health She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University. She stood there and said quietly: Vance passed away.. She co-anchored the weekday 6pm and 11pm editions of News4 on WRC-TV (NBC4) in Washington, D.C. and was also the station's health reporter. Gentzler joined the news team in 1989, welcoming the chance to return to her hometown after working in Philadelphia. When he died in 2009, Vance led a moving piece on their decades of working together. WTOP.com | Alexa | Google Home | WTOP App | 103.5 FM, A uniquely American challenge: Group of local universities offer ideas to reduce gun violence, Report: DC area among cheapest rates for car insurance, DC boxing coach says role in Creed III was dream come true, Driver dies after tanker truck overturns, explodes near Frederick; northbound US-15 closed near crash site, Winds up to 50 mph expected to sweep DC region Saturday, Md. It weighs on you night after night.. One of her first thoughts was that she needed to talk to her colleagues and get to work, Miller remembers. In an interview on Friday, Gentzler said she planned to spend time with family and to travel in retirement; her announcement coincided with the retirement of her husband, Bill Miller, a public information officer at the U.S. attorneys office in the District and a former Washington Post journalist. Longtime local TV news anchor Doreen Gentzler surprised many people on Oct. 28 with her on-air announcement that she would be retiring in November after 33 years at NBC4. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. She had enjoyed some success as an anchor for Clevelands NBC affiliate. Doreen Gentzler, who co-anchored the most popular local TV newscast in Washington for over three decades, said Friday that she would retire next month, closing out a nearly unbroken reign as. They were shooting a promo that would run during the Super Bowl. The first thing she said: Why wont you talk to me?, I said, You know, Doreen, I dont like the Philadelphia DoreenI loved the Cleveland Doreen, he remembers telling her. . "We played chicken on the air." It may cause me to get a little emotional, so Ill just say it outright. Last fall was better: From October to December, the newscast climbed back on top, edging out Channel 7, according to ratings pulled from Nielsen. Although Changing Minds has led us in many different areas, its main objective is to lessen the stigma attached to mental illness. I miss her very much. This show has been successful in garnering both local and national recognition for stressing on a wide range of issues regarding mental illnesses. You have known them for many years. Coming to her love life, the American news anchor is married to Bill Miller, a former editor and reporter at The Washington Post. In Philly, it was like [her bosses] had a preconceived notion of what an anchor should look like, he says. She dreaded going to the newsroom, a toxic atmosphere that she says took a toll on her mental health. She asked for a day off in the week after his death. She switched into journalist mode: Whos your doctor? This is according to her Facebook post in December 2017. Gentzler had just started a new job anchoring weekend broadcasts for the CBS station in Philadelphia, where she seemed entirely different from the fresh-faced, dogged reporter Horlick had seen in Cleveland. Airports to Fly Out ofJFK, LAX Didn't Make Either List. Who is Boyd Huppert? 1.6 m). She first worked with Jim Vance, George Michael and Bob Ryan on the news desk; and later, with Jim Handly, Wendy Rieger and Doug Kammerer, as well as all the other outstanding people on this team, Gentzler said last October. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Chris in 1991 and a daughter named Carson in 1994. The rituals after the death of a family member are so firmly defined: paid leave from work, Hallmark cards bearing witness to the void, empathy from friends who have likely experienced something similar. Fahri, Paul. After that, Gentzler worked for Philadelphia's WCAU-TV. Bill is a former reporter and editor at The Washington Post, who specialized in law enforcement coverage. Her reports have taken her around the world, including the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Ecuador. I didnt really appreciate that everybody would be looking at me for those answers so fast.. Her contemporaries included a long list of familiar figures, particularly Jim Vance, with whom she co-anchored WRCs newscasts for 28 years until his death in 2017. Gentzler anchored WRC's 6pm news alongside veteran anchor Jim Vance for 28 years a partnership that lasted until Vance's death in July 2017. Yet rarely do we stop to considerin our society ordered around the 9-to-5, where our coworkers are often more intimately entwined in our day-to-day than our actual partnerswhat it might be like when our work spouses die. She cant remember what it was. There she anchored the 6pm and 11pm newscasts. In announcing Gentzlers retirement, Vice President of News for WRC and WZDC Mike Goldrick said, The phrase 'anchor' only scratches the surface of what Doreen has meant to us in the newsroom and to our viewers She has shown her empathy and kindness to generations of colleagues who have passed through our studio doors.. Gentzler herself wasnt pleased with her new on-air persona. She struggled with the shell shock of his win and what she thought would come of his presidency: Its just like, Uh, what? Shes going to be with us for quite a while.. Now the day had come. Maybe its because were somehow taught to grant professional figures immunity from the banalities of daily existence. You just get lucky.. If youre looking for levity, look no further. Rieger retired from WRC at the end of 2021 after battling health issues; she succumbed to brain cancer in April at 65, the same age as Gentzler. The project has received local and national recognition for highlighting a wide range of issues related to mental illness. Early life [ edit] Gentzler was raised in the Dominion Hills neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. Which makes it hard to distill the particular alchemy of Jim and Doreen. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. who is an electrician. We are always concerned about losing viewers, Gentzler says. Id have some issue with my husband, and hed take my husbands side, every time, Gentzler says with a laugh. Together, weve had to cope with some painful losses and weve celebrated so many wonderful times that I will always hold dear.. SalaryContinue. Doreen graduated with a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Georgia.