Andrea Mitchell, a legacy reporter with NBC News, announced that she’s signing off and leaving the network.
Mitchell said will step down as full-time anchor on MSNBC this Friday. Her resignation will end a 17-year stint as host of “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Last fall, the longtime journalist said that she would step down from her daily MSNBC show after the presidential inauguration but will continue her work as a correspondent for NBC News.
“After sixteen years of being in the anchor chair every day, I want time to do more of what I love the most: connecting, listening, and reporting in the field,” Mitchell, 78, told viewers on Oct. 29.
“Whoever is elected next week will face the monumental task of handling two foreign wars and the political divisions here at home,” Mitchell added at the time of her announcement.
According to the New York Post, Mitchell will remain NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent and chief Washington correspondent.
MSNBC launched “Andrea Mitchell Reports” in 2008, making it the longest-running show in MSNBC’s daytime lineup. However, the show will run its last episode on Friday.
The network has yet to announce what will replace Mitchell’s program.
Mitchell’s career spans over five decades at NBC News, where she has covered every US presidential campaign since 1980 and has reported on major global events.
In a company-wide memo, NBC executives praised Mitchell’s contributions, stating:
“Andrea remains one of the country’s foremost and most trusted experts on foreign policy and domestic politics.”
“Her deep sourcing and ability to land the biggest-name news-making interviews are unmatched,” the network said in a statement, adding that “we are so pleased that she will remain an essential part of the News Group for years to come.”
Her departure comes at during a time of massive turnover within the family of NBC networks, including MSNBC.
Chuck Todd, the former “Meet the Press” moderator, left NBC News last week after nearly two decades. His last day was Friday.
“There’s never a perfect time to leave a place that’s been a professional home for so long, but I’m pretty excited about a few new projects that are on the cusp of going from ‘pie in the sky’ to ‘near reality,’” Todd wrote in a memo to employees.
MSNBC network boss Rashida Jones also stepped down on the eve of Trump’s inauguration — ending a four-year stint as president.
Jones was the first black woman to lead a major television network.
In addition to key departures, two of MSNBC’s headline stars — Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle — were reportedly told they needed to take a pay cut to remain in their roles.
According to reports, the network recently gave star anchor Rachel Maddow a $5 million-a-year reduction from her annual $30 million salary — though MSNBC disputed these figures.