WNYW New York Anchor Lori Stokes To Retire

Lori Stokes, a 40-year journalism veteran and current anchor on the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news on Fox O&O WNYW New York, said today that she intends to retire on Sept. 30.

Before joining WNYW in 2017, she was co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning at WABC New York, where she worked for 17 years. Prior to WABC, Stokes worked at MSNBC/NBC. While there, she reported for NBC Nightly News Weekend and anchored for NBC Sunrise and Weekend Today. Earlier, she reported for ABC affiliate WJLA Washington, where she was evening anchor at six and 11 o’clock.

She was honored with the George P. Foster Peabody Award for her Sept. 11, 2001 coverage of the World Trade Center attack and received the 2003 Congressional Black Caucus Celebration of Leadership Award for her civic service and her status as a positive role model.

She is an alumna of Howard University and Ohio State University.

In her Instagram announcement, Stokes wrote: “Fox5 has been so wonderful to me since I joined in 2017, consistently providing me with new opportunities-from co-hosting their flagship morning show Good Day New York to becoming the station’s first solo, African American anchor on the 6 o’clock news.

“I am incredibly grateful for my colleagues and bosses at New York’s Fox5 and WABC. I have had a historic career at leading stations across the country, from production assistant … in 1984 to primetime anchor today.”

Lew Leone, SVP-GM of WNYW, said: “It was divine intervention which brought Lori to Fox5. She is a tremendous talent and a legend in the New York market. Her incredible combination of kindness, caring, dedication and sense of service will be truly missed. We wish her and her family a great next chapter.”