Michael Rowland to leave the ABC after 39 years

Michael Rowland has announced he is leaving the ABC after a 39-year career with the national broadcaster.

“I am tremendously grateful for the many opportunities the ABC has given me over almost four decades,” Rowland said following the announcement, which he made on-air during News Breakfast on Monday.

“I have done everything from the overnight police rounds shift as an ABC cadet to presenting various national TV programs. I have had a charmed career. In return, I have devoted literally most of my life to the ABC. I am now keen to move on to the next stage – and spend more time with family and friends.”

The veteran presenter is now the national affairs reporter for the ABC’s 7.30, which he joined in November after wrapping up his role as presenter on The Radio National Hour. Before that, he was co-host of News Breakfast for nearly 15 years.

Rowland thanked the colleagues and mentors he had worked with throughout his career at the broadcaster, many of whom he says are “lifelong friends”. However, his biggest thank you went to the audience.

“I want to say a huge thank you to the ABC audience for watching, listening and reading over the years. Hopefully, I have left everyone just a bit more informed from the thousands of stories I have reported and presented, and maybe a bit brighter from my dubious gags on breakfast TV.”

ABC director of news Justin Stevens said he had known Rowland “for a number of years and always hugely valued his experience, reliability and heft”.

“While the ABC and audiences will miss him, he has made an indelible contribution and leaves a legacy of fine journalism, absolute professionalism and great personal integrity,” he said.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside him, and I know you’ll join me in wishing him the very best.”

In his statement, Rowland recalled getting the phone call to say he had been hired as an ABC cadet in January 1987.

“My mum reminds me I was gripping the wall next to the phone in shock. I could not believe my luck,” he said.

Rowland looked back on how much had changed since he began his career, but said that “the ABC’s guiding principles haven’t”, launching into a spirited defence of public broadcasting.

“Yes, the ABC is far from perfect. But in this age of misinformation, and where many news outlets are picking sides, an independent national broadcaster is more important than ever,” Rowland said.

“The ABC is a national treasure. All who work here, from the managing director down, are simply temporary custodians of an organisation that needs to survive and prosper to ensure Australia doesn’t walk down the same path as other countries, where fierce, independent journalism is being crushed or has disappeared already.”

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