WDIV anchor Ruth Spencer to retire at the end of 2015

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Jul 08, 2015, 02:53 ET

DETROIT, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Detroit's NBC affiliate announced today that anchor and consumer reporter Ruth Spencer will "sign off" for the last time in December 2015 as she and her husband co-retire to Longboat Key, Florida, where the couple has been building a house.

"I've been in television news since 1981 – spending the last 25 years here at Local 4," says Spencer. "I've felt privileged to serve our loyal viewers as a nightly news anchor and as the consumer investigator heading up the 'Ruth to the Rescue' unit."

Spencer was hired at WDIV in 1990 to anchor the early evening newscast and currently solo anchors the station's number one early newscast "First at 4" and "Local 4 News at 5:30" with Devin Scillian. For 22 years, her "Ruth to the Rescue" franchise has helped viewers resolve their consumer complaints about a business, product, or service.

The Emmy award-winning Spencer is a California native, born in San Diego, whose family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she studied ballet. Later she danced many roles with Oakland Metropolitan Ballet Company and put herself through college teaching at several ballet schools. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors in broadcast journalism from San Francisco State University.

Having worked in six newsrooms over 34 years in the television news industry, Spencer always had a zeal for news. Out of college she was an assignment editor at KPIX in San Francisco and then moved on to KRON where she worked as a field producer. Her first on-air job was at KRDO in Colorado Springs and from there she became the first female co-anchor at KATV in Little Rock before taking the chair at the Twin Cities' KSTP as their main anchor.

In 1992, Spencer married a Detroit attorney and together they have a daughter who will be a sophomore at the University of Michigan.

"When Ruth came to me to say that she wanted to retire, I was both sad for the station and happy for her. She is a viewer favorite and has genuine concern for the people of this community. We will truly miss her," said Marla Drutz, Local 4's vice-president and general manager.

"I will always feel lucky to have been welcomed by the down-to-earth people of Michigan," added Spencer. "I find them wise and hard-working. I so appreciate the opportunity that WDIV has given me to come into their homes each night. And I hope that, especially through 'Ruth to the Rescue,' I've been able to help them in ways that have made a difference for the better in their lives."

About WDIV-TV Local 4
WDIV-TV Local 4 is honored to be recognized as Station of the Year by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. Local 4 News is currently the #1 newscast at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. in Nielsen ratings for the Detroit television market, and Local 4 News at 11 p.m. is the highest-rated newscast of all NBC affiliates in the top 12 markets nationwide. Local 4's ClickOnDetroit.com is the leading breaking news and weather website in Michigan and metro Detroit's #1 TV media website.

About Graham Media Group
Graham Media Group (www.GrahamMedia.com), a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), owns five local TV stations—each in a top-50 market and all recognized as news leaders—reaching 6.3% of U.S. television households: KPRC–Houston and WDIV–Detroit (NBC); KSAT–San Antonio (ABC); WKMG–Orlando (CBS); and WJXT–Jacksonville (independent). The stations also broadcast digital channels focused on classic television and operate market-leading websites, mobile sites and mobile apps that deliver breaking news, weather and community news, reaching millions of users across each platform. Graham Media Group owns SocialNewsDesk, a leading provider of social media software solutions used in more than 600 newsrooms worldwide.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150708/234078

SOURCE WDIV-TV Local 4