WDIV-Local 4 announces that its popular news anchor Ruth Spencer will "sign off" for the last time at the end of this year. After a quarter century at WDIV, she has given the station a six month notice of her intent to co-retire with her husband 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 solving viewer's problems heading up the ‘Ruth to the Rescue' unit."
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She came to Detroit in 1990
Spencer was hired at WDIV in 1990 to co-anchor with Emery King for what became the #1 weeknight 6pm newscast in Detroit. In 1993 when consumer investigator Asa Aarons left WDIV, Spencer took over his "I'm Telling Asa" unit and the name was changed to "Ruth to the Rescue."
She was the first consumer investigator to expose the mold and mildew issue with the Maytag Neptune front-loading washing machines and did countless hidden camera investigations on grocery stores uncovering expired food on store shelves. Her brand of reporting always put the consumer first.
"The Ruth to the Rescue unit has had so many dedicated volunteers over the years and I'm so thankful for all of their hard work in answering phones and listening to the stories of our viewers," said Spencer.
Currently, Spencer solo anchors WDIV-Local 4's number one rated "First at Four" newscast Monday through Friday. And, along with Devin Scillian, she co-anchors the station's weeknight 5:30 news.
Ruth's hard work has won her countless awards, including induction into the exclusive Silver Circle club.
From ballerina to journalist
Spencer, her parents and siblings are all San Diego natives. Her father's job moved the family to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was 10. There, her entire young life became the serious study of ballet. Later, Spencer successfully auditioned for Oakland Metropolitan Ballet Company, danced many roles over the years, putting herself through San Francisco State University teaching at local ballet schools. She graduated with high honors receiving a B.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism.
And at that point she leaped from a non-verbal performance medium into the very verbal medium which is TV news.
Out of college she was hired as an assignment editor at KPIX in San Francisco. A year later she took a job at San Francisco's KRON as an assignment editor and field producer. She desired to be on air but had no on-air professional experience. So she took an anchor and reporting job at a station where they hired beginners - KRDO in Colorado Springs.
One year later, the TV consultants and head hunters were calling to move her up to a larger news market. She was hired as the first weeknight female co-anchor at KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. After one year – more calls came in to put her in a top 20 market – KSTP in the Twin Cities - Minneapolis / St. Paul. Then after five years there she finally realized her dream: to work again in a top ten market, but this time on air, and with tremendous experience – as a weeknight anchor at WDIV.
California girl is a Detroiter at heart.
Spencer expresses great appreciation for her 25 years in the Detroit community and cites that many wonderful things have happened to her beyond news reporting. In 1992, she married a Detroit attorney in the Cranbrook gardens and the couple has a daughter who will be a sophomore when she returns to the University of Michigan after summer break.
Although Spencer started as a "California girl," she feels strongly that in her soul she will also think of Detroit as "home."
"I will always feel lucky to have been welcomed by the down-to-earth people of Michigan. I find them wise and hard-working. And I hope that I have returned their trust. 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."
News director Kim Voet recalls, "I will never forget the night of the tanker explosion on I-75 at 9 Mile Road when Ruth was simply her best. She anchored our breaking news prime time coverage flawlessly for hours. That kind of talent doesn't often come around. Our newsroom will miss her."