Veteran broadcast journalist Bob Schieffer stepped down after nearly half a century on the air on Sunday, including 24 years as the host of “Face the Nation.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m going to miss being in the middle of things, but the one thing I will never forget is the trust you placed in me and how nice you were to have me as a guest in your home over so many years,” Schieffer said during his final episode hosting the weekly political forum.
{mosads}“That meant the world to me. It always will,” he added. “Thank you.”
Schieffer, 78, announced his retirement in April, after 46 years as an award-winning reporter with CBS News.
Since 1991, he became a nearly indispensable figure as the moderator of “Face the Nation,” one of the country’s premier Sunday morning political talk shows.
He has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon, moderated three presidential debates and won six Emmys.
In the closing moments of Sunday morning’s show, Schieffer gracefully handed the baton to CBS News political director John Dickerson, who will be replacing him as the “Face the Nation” anchor. Dickerson, who has been with CBS since 2009, and is expected to stick largely to the formula that the political program has used for years.
Schieffer also brought the entire crew of the show on to take a bow.
“’Face the Nation’ was here long before I came here to CBS,” Schieffer said. “I know I’m leaving it in good hands.”
Guests on Schieffer’s final show also expressed their appreciation for his years of journalistic work, which has had him cover virtually every major story of the last five decades.
“’Face the Nation’ is the go-to place, and I just appreciate everything you’ve done,” said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), one of his final interview subjects.
“You’re an icon in the broadcasting news industry,” echoed CIA Director John Brennan.