Kaity Tong net worth is estimated at $4.5 million, built over one of the longest-running careers in New York television news. That career just ended: Tong announced her retirement in early August 2026, with her final broadcast airing August 30, 2026, closing out more than 34 years at WPIX, branded PIX11 since the 1990s, and nearly five decades in local television overall. If you’re finding a bio that describes her as still anchoring, it’s already out of date.
Kaity Tong Snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | July 23, 1947 |
| Age | 79 |
| Birthplace | Qingdao, China |
| Education | Bryn Mawr College (B.A., English Literature); Stanford University (doctoral studies, Chinese and Japanese studies, unfinished) |
| Career | WABC-TV (1981–1991); WPIX/PIX11 (1992–2026) |
| Retirement | Announced August 2026; final broadcast August 30, 2026 |
| Honor | New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, Class of 2025 |
| Net Worth | Estimated $4.5 million |
Why Did Kaity Tong Retire in 2026?
By her own account and her station’s framing, it was simply time, a planned, celebrated exit after a career few local news figures ever reach in length. PIX11 Managing Editor Patrick Mason described her as “journalist, anchor, icon, legend, friend, mentor” in announcing the news, noting that after more than 34 years at the station, Tong had opted for “a much-deserved retirement.” The announcement came without any indication of health issues or controversy, framed entirely as the closing chapter of a career that had already been honored with Hall of Fame induction less than a year earlier.
Her departure also lands amid broader cost-cutting at PIX11 under owner Nexstar Media Group, which had already let go of four other on-air staff earlier in 2026 as part of a restructuring push. Whether that context influenced the specific timing of Tong’s own retirement hasn’t been stated directly by her or the station, and her exit has been framed publicly as a personal choice rather than a layoff.
How Did Kaity Tong Become a Journalist?
Almost entirely by accident, which is a genuinely unusual origin story for someone who became one of the most recognized anchors in the country’s largest media market. Tong was born in Qingdao, China, and moved to the United States with her family at age four, growing up in Washington, D.C.
She’s said she never actually aspired to be a broadcast journalist, she wanted to be a college professor, and was accepted into a doctoral program in Chinese and Japanese studies at Stanford University after graduating with honors from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in English Literature.
While at Stanford, she took what was meant to be a seasonal job at a television station, initially hired as a writer, and was asked to do an on-air test almost as an afterthought. She was promoted to street reporter shortly after, her first on-air story reportedly covering new carts transporting people around an airport, about as unglamorous a beginning as broadcast journalism offers. The seasonal job turned into year-long employment, and she never finished her doctoral dissertation, choosing the unplanned television career over the academic one she’d actually set out to build.
What Inspired Kaity Tong to Stay in Journalism?
Family influence that predates her own accidental start. She’s cited her great-uncle, Hollington K. Tong, a former Chinese ambassador to the United States and an accomplished writer, and her own mother, who worked as a broadcaster and producer for the Voice of America, as inspirations once she was already in the field, even though neither directly caused her initial, accidental entry into television.
What Was Kaity Tong’s Career Timeline?
| Period | Station | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | KPIX-TV, San Francisco | Reporter |
| Late 1970s | KCRA-TV, Sacramento | Co-anchor, 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts |
| 1981–1991 | WABC-TV, New York City | Co-anchor, alongside figures including Roger Grimsby and Bill Beutel |
| 1992–2026 | WPIX / PIX11, New York City | Top female anchor for more than three decades |
At KCRA-TV in Sacramento, she reportedly became the number-one-rated news personality in the market during her tenure there, well before she ever reached New York. After being let go from WABC-TV in 1991, she joined WPIX in early 1992, a station now branded PIX11, and remained there for the rest of her career, becoming the station’s defining on-air presence for more than three decades.
Did Kaity Tong Appear in Any Films?
Yes, in small roles that occasionally surface in trivia about her. She appeared as herself in the 1984 film Moscow on the Hudson, and had roles in Spider-Man and City Hall, the kind of brief cameo appearances that New York-based news anchors sometimes pick up given their local visibility and the frequency of films shot in the city.
What Awards Has Kaity Tong Won?
| Honor | Detail |
|---|---|
| New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame | Class of 2025 |
| Ellis Island Medal of Honor | Recognizing contributions by an American of immigrant background |
| Exceptional Achievement Award, The Women’s Project | Shared with honorees including Gloria Steinem and Beverly Sills |
| Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary International | First woman honored with this recognition |
| Star Award, New York Women’s Agenda |
Her Hall of Fame induction came just months before her retirement announcement, giving her career a formal capstone recognition before she actually stepped away, a fortunate sequencing that not every retiring broadcaster gets.
How Significant Was Kaity Tong’s Presence in New York Specifically?
Hard to overstate for anyone who grew up watching New York local news. One industry commentary on her retirement put it directly: you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the New York City area who doesn’t immediately associate PIX11 with Kaity Tong. That kind of singular brand association, one anchor effectively becoming synonymous with an entire station across three decades, is increasingly rare in an era of frequent anchor turnover and consolidated station ownership, which is part of why her retirement was covered as the end of an era rather than a routine staffing change. For another veteran journalist whose long tenure defined her outlet’s identity, our profile of Madison Alworth covers a different, earlier-career stage of broadcast journalism by comparison.
Was Kaity Tong Married?
She was previously married to Robert Long, a former news director and vice president at Los Angeles’s KNBC-TV, a marriage that ended in 2009. The couple has a son, Philip Long. Some records also reference an earlier relationship connected to the surname Callahan, though details are less consistently documented than her marriage to Long, so that detail should be treated with more caution than the rest of her biography.
What Is Kaity Tong Net Worth?
Estimated at $4.5 million, a figure that reflects nearly five decades of steady, high-profile local television income rather than any single large payday. New York City’s Market #1 status means anchor salaries there run considerably higher than in smaller markets, and Tong’s multi-decade tenure at the same station, rather than jumping between employers, likely built the kind of long-term contract stability that compounds into a comfortable net worth over time even without the total ever approaching the wealth of a national network star. No specific salary or asset breakdown has been publicly disclosed, so treat the figure as a reasonable estimate rather than a confirmed number.
Was Kaity Tong ever married?
Yes, to Robert Long, a former KNBC-TV news director and vice president, until their divorce in 2009. They have a son, Philip Long.
Kaity Tong built one of the longest-running careers in New York television by accident, walking away from a Stanford doctorate for what was supposed to be a seasonal television job that turned into nearly 50 years on the air. Her retirement in August 2026 closes out that career on her own terms, following a Hall of Fame induction rather than a scandal or a layoff, a genuinely rare way for a decades-long broadcast career to end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kaity Tong’s net worth?
Estimated at $4.5 million, based on her decades-long career as a New York television news anchor.
Is Kaity Tong still on PIX11?
No. She announced her retirement in August 2026, with her final broadcast airing August 30, 2026.
Where was Kaity Tong born?
Qingdao, China, before moving to the United States at age four.
What honor did Kaity Tong receive in 2025?
Induction into the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
