Tonight’s 6pm broadcast will be the last for longtime NBC4 newscaster Doreen Gentzler. Gentzler, who joined NBC4 in 1989, following the departure of Dave Marash, has been with the station for 33 years. She announced her plans to retire back in October. Gentzler co-anchored the weekday 6pm and 11pm editions of News4 on WRC-TV (NBC4) and was also the station’s health reporter. She has also made appearances as herself on NBC shows The Event and The Blacklist. 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.
Per NBC4, Gentzler shared the following, “I have some personal news to share this evening. It may cause me to get a little emotional, so I’ll just say it outright. I’ve decided to retire. Not an easy choice, but something I’ve been considering for a while … I’ve been working here for more than half my life. 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. On her first newscast, Gentzler’s longtime co-anchor and close friend Jim Vance welcomed her by saying, “This is Doreen, folks. Doreen Gentzler. She’s going to be with us for quite a while.” Thirty-three years later, it’s safe to say Vance was right.
