Bob Schieffer to Retire from Face the Nation

Veteran CBS anchor Bob Schieffer will leave Face the Nation next January:

NEW YORK (AP) - Veteran CBS Washington hand Bob Schieffer, who has anchored "Face the Nation" since 1991, said Tuesday he plans to step down from the Sunday morning political talk show with the inauguration of a new president.
The start of a new administration next January provides a natural transition, he said.

"That's when I'll stop doing what I'm doing now," Schieffer, who turns 71 next month, told The Associated Press. "But I'll still have some relationship with CBS, at least I hope so."

Schieffer has talked retirement before. The bladder cancer survivor once planned to step down when he reached 70, but he spent a year and a half filling in as "CBS Evening News" anchor between the exit of Dan Rather and entrance of Katie Couric. He helped improve the ratings, got good reviews and enjoyed a chance at the top job that he never thought he'd have.

I'll bet more than one CBS exec is wishing they'd kept him on the Evening News. After all, the CBS motto is "Why Watch What Everybody Else is Watching".