By:
April 8, 2015

Veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer announced Wednesday night during the Schieffer Symposium at Texas Christian University that he plans to retire this summer, according to multiple tweets.

The anchor said he chose the university as the spot to make the announcement because it’s “where my professional career began,” according to “Face the Nation.”

“Because that was where it all started for me, I wanted this to be the place, and I wanted you all to be the first to know that this summer I’m going to retire,” he said at the annual Schieffer Symposium at Texas Christian University, his alma mater. “It’s been a great adventure. You know, I’m one of the luckiest people in the world because as a little boy, as a young reporter, I always wanted to be a journalist, and I got to do that. And not many people get to do that, and I couldn’t have asked for a better life or something that was more fun and more fulfilling.”

The university’s college of communication and the annual symposium are both named for him.

Schieffer, CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent and host of “Face the Nation,” has worked at CBS News for 46 years, according to the network. Before he joined CBS, he was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 78-year-old has worked in journalism for more than 50 years, according to his “Face the Nation” bio.

Schieffer has announced plans to retire before. In 2008, the longtime host said he planned to step down from “Face the Nation” after a new president was inaugurated. According to CBS News, he also considered stepping down upon turning 70.

CBS News president David Rhodes sent a memo to his colleagues Wednesday night explaining that Schieffer’s stint as “Face the Nation” host is “not over yet.”

“It’s not over yet. Bob will be on the air this Sunday from the Washington bureau. And for a number of Sundays to come. We’ll have more to report soon about the plans for this important broadcast and for the Washington bureau as a whole. An important 2016 campaign season is beginning. But this is Bob’s night and I hope we can all celebrate with him the remarkable achievement which is his career here at CBS.”

In an interview with Poynter, Rhodes declined to discuss who might succeed Schieffer as host of “Face the Nation,” preferring instead to focus the evening’s news on the anchor’s impending retirement.

“When you consider his career and his announcement tonight, we really are trying to keep the focus on that,” Rhodes said.

He added that the timetable for Schieffer’s retirement was influenced by the conventions of presidential election coverage, which suggest that journalists stay on for the duration of the campaign.

“I think there comes a time in political journalism where you’re going to do the whole presidential campaign or not,” Rhodes said. “You can’t go in the middle.”

Schieffer tells the Star-Telegram he “wanted to quit while I can still do my job.”

Several prominent journalists paid tribute to Schieffer on Twitter in the wake of his announcement:


Here’s the full memo:

Bob Schieffer will retire this summer. Our Chief Washington Correspondent and anchor of Face the Nation made the announcement here in Fort Worth tonight at TCU’s Schieffer College of Communication.

I know what you’re thinking: Bob’s thought about retiring before, is he really retiring now? And of course with his long connection to CBS News we’d be happy to learn that he’s not leaving now– or that he can be seen by our viewers in the future.

But speaking at the annual Schieffer Symposium here with colleagues Gayle King, Holly Williams, and a large audience of students and friends from his home community, Bob said he wanted to end it where it began. He graduated from TCU and before long went to work at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Bob’s been with CBS since 1969… Chief Washington Correspondent since 1982… and host of Face the Nation since 1991. That broadcast is in its 60th year and has never been better or more powerful, ranking consistently number one this season.

He’s been an inspiration and a mentor to so many colleagues– and frankly, to me. You could see at TCU tonight how that inspiration extends to a wider community of reporters and editors and academics… Not to mention the example he sets as a father and husband with his wife Pat and his whole family here and elsewhere.

It’s not over yet. Bob will be on the air this Sunday from the Washington bureau. And for a number of Sundays to come. We’ll have more to report soon about the plans for this important broadcast and for the Washington bureau as a whole. An important 2016 campaign season is beginning. But this is Bob’s night and I hope we can all celebrate with him the remarkable achievement which is his career here at CBS.

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Benjamin Mullin
Benjamin Mullin was formerly the managing editor of Poynter.org. He also previously reported for Poynter as a staff writer, Google Journalism Fellow and Naughton Fellow,…
Benjamin Mullin

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