Jim Gardner, the GOAT, Sets Retirement Date
We’ll get it back to the Eagles momentarily, but the big story on Action News is that O.G. anchor Jim Gardner is calling it a career.
Longtime 6abc/WPVI-TV veteran Jim Gardner announced he is dialing back his schedule with Action News and plans to retire at the end of 2022 after more than four decades in broadcast.
Earlier today, Gardner informed his colleagues of his decision to reduce his schedule by continuing to anchor the 6 p.m. newscast, with Ducis Rodgers and Meteorologist Cecily Tynan, but no longer anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast. His last late newscast is scheduled for early January. WPVI will announce his replacement in the coming months.
He’s doing the same thing Angelo Cataldi is doing. Drawing back his hours ahead of a 2022 retirement.
Gardner is the GOAT, as you know. He’s been anchoring Action News at six and 11 since May of 1977, which means he started on the anchor desk before the first Millennial was born. Back then, Fleetwood Mac had just released the Rumours album and Jimmy Carter was kicking off his presidency. Danny Ozark was managing the Philadelphia Phillies and the Eagles had just drafted Wilbert Montgomery.
The thing about Action News is that they have so many longish-tenured people that replacing Gardner should be easy. They’ve really done a great job of cultivating talent across the board, and keeping that talent in house. Rick Williams is in place. Sarah Bloomquist is there. Brian Taff, Matt O’Donnell, Sharrie Williams, etc. People like Monica Malpass, Rob Jennings, and Lisa Thomas-Laury are long gone, but there are plenty of folks in-house who can take the job.
Of course, TV news is a dying medium, and has been dying a slow-ish death for some time now. Action News will always be able to carve out a niche in Philadelphia but the likes of CBS 3, NBC 10, and FOX 29 aren’t what they used to be. It’s fixed-time slot news in a world where everybody can get the forecast and the headlines on their phone. It’s sad, but true.