Reports indicate that longtime Black New York City news anchor Sue Simmons is not getting her contract renewed and is being let go from her position at WNBC 4 in June.
Simmons’ career at the NBC affiliate spans over 30 years since she started at the station in 1980. She is best known for anchoring alongside Chuck Scarborough. From 1980 to 2007, she co-anchored WNBC’s newscast “Live at Five.” Upon the show’s end, she started co-anchoring the station’s 11 p.m. newscast.
It’s been reported that Simmons, 68, was the highest-paid local affiliate news anchor in the nation, with a salary of $2.5 million. Prior to working at WNBC 4, she served as a reporter and anchor in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and New Haven, Conn.
A native of Harlem, she is the daughter of famous jazz bassist John Simmons.
In a statement, WNBC said it is “engaged in ongoing conversations with Sue about her transition from WNBC” and is planning to “celebrate her many contributions to WNBC and the New York market.”