Julie Haener, Longtime Bay Area KTVU News Anchor, Announces Retirement

BAY AREA, CA — Longtime Bay Area news anchor Julie Haener shared some big news this week.

The KTVU anchor announced Tuesday she is stepping away after 27 years in the role to spend more time with her family.

"I have a lot of really important things that I just don’t want to miss with my boys," Haener, 56, said Tuesday while announcing her retirement. "I can’t believe I've been able to juggle for so long and be able to do this amazing career with all my colleagues — some of the best journalists in the business — but after a while, I can’t be in two places at one time. I don’t want to miss out on those family times."

Haener and her husband, Ryan Haener, a retired CEO, have been married for 29 years. They have two sons, Jake and Kyle, who played high school football. Their eldest, Jake, is now an NFL quarterback for the New Orleans Saints after playing for the Fresno State Bulldogs as team captain. Their youngest son, Kyle, played lacrosse in college as a defenseman for Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. These days, he works as a sales development representative.

In addition to spending time with her family, Haener enjoys horseback riding, hiking and traveling.

She is originally from Tacoma, Washington, and attended the University of Washington where she earned a degree in broadcast journalism.

Her education at U-Dub would serve her well. After coming to the Bay Area 29 years ago, Haener would cover the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the San Bruno pipeline explosion in 2010, Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2019, San Francisco’s deadly dog mauling case, the Scott Peterson murder trial, California’s historic drought, Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle’s involuntary manslaughter conviction of Oscar Grant in 2010, the Asiana Airlines crash at SFO in 2013, the 6.0 earthquake that rocked Napa in 2014, the journey of the San Ramon high school football player Jake Javier who was left paralyzed in a diving accident the night before graduation in 2017, and lastly, a number of Giants and Warriors championships.

Haener began her career at KNDO-TV in Yakima, Washington working in several roles: general assignment reporter, producer, photographer, editor and anchor. From there, she landed a job at KJEO-TV in Fresno as the weeknight news anchor. Then it was on to KIRO-TV in Seattle where Haener served as a morning news anchor and reporter for three years before joining KTVU in the Bay Area in 1997.

She will present the Bay Area news for two more weeks; her last day is June 20, she announced on air at the close of Tuesday's newscast.

"It is hard to say it but I am going to end my career here at KTVU," Haener said. "It’s been a long time coming; it’s been 27 years. I don’t want to get sad but ... just to have a place to live like the Bay Area and to get to work and cover stories and report on stories that matter to people for this long has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m so glad to have been able to do it with all of you."

It was a bittersweet decision to make, Haener told Patch.

"It's a mix of emotions," she said. "I have loved working at KTVU for all of these years so the decision to just walk away when I still had time on my contract was very tough. It really all came down to needing more flexibility with my schedule. I’m excited about the next chapter and more time with my family, friends, traveling and going to lots of football games. Ready for new adventures!"

Haener told Patch she has heard from so many people since making the announcement.

"Just want to say - thank you to all the people who have reached out over the past couple of days with such kind words and messages! It’s been an outpouring of love and support! And I am so appreciative and grateful for that!! ❤️"