Chris Riva has spent a collective 10 years out of a three-decade career reporting in the Cincinnati area. But now, the veteran journalist is moving on to the next step of his career. Chris Riva is leaving FOX19 NOW after three years. Naturally, WXIX-TV viewers and others who have followed his career for decades want to know where he is going and if he will retire from broadcasting. They especially wonder if he’s staying in Cincinnati. Find out what Chris Riva said about his departure from FOX19 NOW.
Chris Riva’s Education and Career
Born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, Chris Riva graduated from Monroe High School. In 1994, he received a BA in Mass Communication from Wright State University.
During his college days, Riva started his broadcasting career in sportscasting at Dayton radio station WING 1040 AM. After he graduated, he first appeared on Cincinnati’s broadcast scene as a sports reporter at WCPO 9 News from 1994 to 1997.
After a two-year stint at Dayton’s WKEF-TV, Riva moved to Wisconsin. He was sports director at WGBA-TV’s NBC 26 in Green Bay from 1999 to 2002.
Riva had stops in Colorado and California before returning to Cincinnati in 2014. But this time around, he was a morning news anchor at WCPO 9 News.
In 2019, he joined WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. While anchoring the evening newscasts on FOX19 NOW, he also served on boards of multiple local organizations in Cincinnati and Middletown, adding Associated Press, Emmy, and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards to his list of honors.
Chris Riva Leaves FOX19 NOW
After a collective 10 years reporting in Cincinnati, over 30 years in broadcasting, and three years at WXIX-TV, Chris Riva is leaving FOX19 NOW and stepping back from the news desk. His last day on the air at WXIX was on March 2.
In a statement thanking his team at FOX19, Riva said he had accepted a new job at The Connor Group. Although he has not specified what his new role will be, the property management business is based in Ohio. So, this means we can take comfort that Chris Riva is not moving from the area.
Moreover, Riva didn’t say whether he’d return to the news desk any time in the future, but he’s not calling it a retirement either.
“This is not goodbye, but so long for now as I pivot to an exciting new adventure,” he wrote.
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The Cincinnati community is nonetheless happy for him as he transitions to a new career opportunity. They flooded his social media comments section with well-wishes and hope he’d still make an appearance on local news in his new role.