March 7, 2023, Sunday marked the death of the legendary broadcast journalist John Roland, who has served in the field for decades.
Roland is known for being a longtime New York City news anchor and even though he has worked with different media houses throughout his career, he was known for being the reporter for the popular media house Fox 5.
The news about the death of John Roland was also confirmed by his former employee Fox 5. Even though he was best known for being a New York City reporter, Roland settled in Florida and was there during the time of his death.
Even though the reason behind the death of John Roland is not clearly stated, some sources report that the former news anchor passed away due to complications from a stroke. He was 81 years old when he passed away.
It can be said that John Roland kicked off his successful professional media career at New York’s Channel 5 as a weekday political reporter and weekend anchor. He started to work with the agency around 1969 and continued to work there for almost three decades.
As years passed, Roland eventually became the news anchor for the 10 p.m. news and that made him a very familiar face on television. Roland continued as the anchor for the 10 p.m News for about 10 years.
Roland decided to join Fox 5 and he took up the role of nightly news anchor for the channel. He continued in the position until he retired from his job in 2004.
Johan Roland served in the industry for quite a long time and during his lengthy and successful career, Roland worked with many different news anchors and other media personalities like Rosanna Scotto, who is a very popular news anchor.
Being a part of the news desk for decades, the presence of Roland was still very evident at the desk even after he retired from his job. He still had an influence on the people whom he worked with.
After hearing about the death of John Roland, Rosanna Scoot said in a statement that it was Roland who taught her about fairness in presenting the news. She also stated that she felt the passion and respect that he held for his audience while working together with him.
Fox 5, a long-time employee of John Roland also shared their experience and condolences with respect to the passing of Roland. The channel stated that irrespective of the nature of the news, Roland always delivered the news to New Yorkers with compassion and was also known for his frank delivery.
Rosanna Scotto also recalled her experience during the reporting of the 9/11 incident alongside Roland. She recalled that he always took pride in his writing and also in down-to-earth communication. Scotto also added that sitting next to Roland was always a learning lesson while working.
Johan Roland was a native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He completed his graduation from California State University in 1964.
Along with his education, Roland also states his career media field in the early 1960s.
During the initial days of his career, Roland worked for NBC News in Los Angeles and even though he was technically a fresher, Roland started off with different big assignments like the Robert F. Kennedy assassination and the Charles Mansion trial.
After working in Los Angeles for a while, Roland joined WNEW-TV, which is the current WNYW which is owned by Fox, in New York City. He joined the channel in 1969 and remained with the channel until his retirement in 2004.
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Throughout his long career with the channel, Roland has worked together with other popular faces of the channel like Rosanna Scotto, Bill McCreary, and Cora-Ann Mihalik.
Along with maintaining a successful career in the media field, Roland also started another venture in 1980. He, along with other partners, started a restaurant in New York City named Marcello.
Even though he was not originally from New York, Roland used to live in the city as his career was based there. Soon after retiring from his job as a news anchor in 2004, Roland decided to move from New York and he decided to settle down in North Miami.
Roland also faced quite a few complications regarding his health throughout his lifetime. He was affected by diverticulitis and had to remove a part of his colon due to the effects it had on him. Also, in May 1983, Roland faced a near-fatal attack from three robbers who tried to rob the customers of a restaurant.
Roland and his friends were having a late-night dinner at the restaurant too. Roland was able to disarm a robber but he was struck with a pastor by one of the other robbers, leaving Roland with a laceration on the side of his head that needed 36 stitches.
Even though it is almost two decades after his retirement from the field, John Roland is still one of the most talked about broadcast journalists and he is looked upon by many in the field.
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