First on TVNewser: Long-time anchor Chuck Roberts is leaving HLN after 28 years TVNewser has learned. Roberts has been anchoring for the network since Headline News launched in 1982 and is the longest-serving anchor there. His final broadcast will be from 3-4pmET this afternoon.
The parting, we’re told, was amicable. In a note to colleagues — which you can read in full below — Roberts thanked his coworkers saying, “We’ve created something from nothing,” adding:
Remember, I’ll still be there with you. Every pit maneuver that ends a chase on the ‘101’, and whenever a barricaded suspect prompts a school lockdown, I’ll be there. Every time a bombshell starlet checks into re-hab, I’ll be there. When a packed airliner lands in the icy Hudson River – and they all get out o-k – you better know I’ll be there. It won’t be the adrenaline rush of turning three or four known facts into twenty minutes of air, but I’ll be there.
Advertisement
More: In her toss at the end of the 2pmET hour, an emotional Christi Paul said, “I speak for the whole team, you are our captain, you always will be our captain.”
More: “You know what? It’s entirely appropriate to take the half minute we got left on the show to tell you how much I appreciate your decades of support for me and the team,” Roberts said at the close of his broadcast. “The people who put this particular block of shows together and on the air are veterans…They’re dedicated professionals. I’m in their debt as I’m in yours. So thanks, everybody. Goodbye. Thank you very much.”
Chuck’s full note as well as Paul’s remarks after the jump.
Developing…
As Sydney Greenstreet said in The Maltese Falcon, “The shortest goodbyes are the best.”
I can’t leave without saying how much I admire and respect all of you. I’m so grateful for your support and friendship; it was for the most part undeserved. We’ve created something from nothing. We used to be a punch line. HLN today is a total PLAYER. You made it happen.
Remember, I’ll still be there with you. Every pit maneuver that ends a chase on the ‘101’, and whenever a barricaded suspect prompts a school lockdown, I’ll be there. Every time a bombshell starlet checks into re-hab, I’ll be there. When a packed airliner lands in the icy Hudson River – and they all get out o-k – you better know I’ll be there. It won’t be the adrenaline rush of turning three or four known facts into twenty minutes of air, but I’ll be there.
Thanks for all you do. And all you’re still doing.
Stay thirsty, my friends.
Christi Paul’s on-air remarks on behalf of HLN staff:
I don’t know if you are aware of this but when Headline News was birthed almost 29 years ago, Chuck Roberts was the man at the desk. I gotta tell you and he’s been our anchor in more ways that one ever since. I was so blessed to sit next to him on his first day and he was so welcoming and I’m blessed to call him a friend. he’s an icon to us here and we adore this guy. He’s the captain of this team. In the next hour, he’ll sign off from HLN.
Chuck, I speak for the whole team, you are our captain, you always will be our captain. We love you to pieces, you know, it’s been an honor and a privilege to sit with you, to watch you, to learn from you. And, you know, at the end of the day we’re all better people for knowing you…I love you, buddy, always with you.
Stick around. The one and only Chuck Roberts coming up next.