Ann Compton, the White House correspondent for ABC News, will retire in September on the 41st anniversary of her start at the network,
Politico reported.
Compton, who started at ABC at age 27, first covered former President Gerald Ford, and will complete her tenure after one final trip with President Barack Obama to the NATO summit in Wales next month.
"It's just a good moment to go," she said, according to Politico. "It's going to be a different business."
The mother of four who became a grandmother earlier this year has also been popular on the speaking circuit and plans do more speaking engagements.
"I will never write a book," she said. "But I do love to talk."
Ben Sherwood, co-president at Disney/ABC Television Group, said Ann was "the pride of Virginia . . . pioneer, ceiling shatterer, and radiant soul. Her stats read like Babe Ruth (7 presidents, 50 states, etc.)."
He said the first reaction at the network on the news that she was not renewing her contract was, "'Say it ain't so.' Our next: ABC News has been blessed every single day since she first walked in the door in 1973. We love her, we thank her, we wish her the very best, and we know she's going to have a blast with Dr. Hughes and her wonderful family. She will always have a home in our White House booth and ABC News."
"She is a reporter of boundless energy who brings her A-game every day . . . She simply loves the beat," said Robin Sproul, ABC News Washington bureau chief. "She has a flair for storytelling, for capturing the day's moments, and she knows as well as any other reporter in town how Washington works."
Sproul added, "Ann is also a generous colleague who has helped many a new reporter covering the White House learn the ropes . . . We will miss Ann so much. She is simply irreplaceable."
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