NEWARK, NJ – NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, announced that Mary Alice Williams, anchor of its flagship NJTV News broadcast, has decided to step down from her position effective this month.

Since 2014, Williams has anchored the NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams, along with multiple news specials, from the Governor’s State of the State addresses and election night coverage to the network’s specials like In Your Neighborhood and Facing The Future. Last month, she stepped back from anchoring duties to care for family members in the face of back-to-back health crises.

“The landscape of journalism is changing but its mission stays the same,” said Williams. “In its coverage of the COVID-19 crisis, the NJTV News team has demonstrated its critical role in providing essential information to help New Jersey get a handle on this life-altering pandemic. They’ve done it with courage and compassion and grace under enormous pressure. It has been my privilege to work alongside them. I look forward to watching them soar.”

“Mary Alice Williams is an icon in broadcast journalism, as well as a very proud New Jersey resident,” said Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of NJTV and its operator WNET. “Along with her extensive network news experience, she has had a longstanding relationship with public television. We have been very fortunate to have her as part of the NJTV News family. Her experience and mentorship with our staff has been invaluable. It’s no exaggeration to say that she has helped shape its journalism and raised the bar for excellence within our show.”

When Williams joined NJTV, she brought with her a stellar reputation as an award-winning journalist, anchor and author. One of her many crowning achievements was her role as a primary architect behind the design of the first worldwide television network, CNN, contributing to its award-winning program lineup and serving as a vice president there. But Williams has also spent decades regularly contributing to public television projects. Following the September 11th terror attacks, she wrote and hosted a 3-hour PBS special Reaching Out to Heal. She also hosted a companion program to Bill Moyers’ On Our Own Terms, about death and dying, which aired in Fall 2000 on PBS. Her 90-minute PBS special on alcoholism and addiction, Within Reach, along with her work as a PBS contributing correspondent and anchor on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, have established Williams as a recognized commentator and reporter on broad issues of ethics.

“Mary Alice will be missed,” added NJTV News Senior Managing Editor Jamie Kraft. “But she is leaving our show with a solid foundation and our team with a long-lasting blueprint of how to be a diligent and objective yet caring journalist and colleague.”

Williams’ successor as the anchor of NJTV News will be announced at a future date. The weeknight newscast will continue at 6pm, 7:30pm and 11pm on NJTV, with the NJTVNews.org and NJSpotlight.com websites providing latest news and information on issues across the state around the clock.