Brit Hume Giving Up Anchor Chair

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Brit Hume is going into semi-retirement, Howie Kurtz reports.

Brit Hume, a top anchor and executive with Fox News since the channel was launched 12 years ago, plans to step down at year’s end. But he won’t disappear entirely.

Sources familiar with the situation say that Hume, 65, will give up his job as Washington managing editor and anchor of “Special Report.” They say he is near a deal to continue with Fox in a senior statesman role, not unlike that of Tom Brokaw at NBC, for roughly 100 days a year.

In his new role, Hume would be a senior political analyst, anchor special events, serve as a panelist on “Fox News Sunday” and occasionally substitute for the host, Chris Wallace.

This was apparently expected. Certainly, the man’s got plenty of money and has earned the right to a lighter schedule.

As I’ve noted many times, I’ve all but stopped watching television news since starting the blog. I always enjoyed Hume, though, as an anchor or as a panelist.

UPDATE: Reactions are starting to pour in.