Lloyd Robertson is CTV's chief anchor and senior editor.
Canadian TV icon Lloyd Robertson is calling it a day. The chief anchor and senior editor of CTV News with Lloyd Robertson announced his retirement at the end of last night's newscast.
In the surprise statement, Mr. Robertson, 76, said he will continue in the anchor chair through the middle of 2011, which will make his tenure 35 years as host of CTV National News. Mr. Robertson also said he intends to move on to other roles within CTV News.
"There comes a time and this is it," Mr. Robertson said. "I want to leave a suitable period for my successor to have a smooth and seamless transition. While I'll be hoisting anchor next year, I'll be continuing at CTV for some time."
On Friday, the network announced that Lisa LaFlamme would replace Mr. Robertson.
Mr. Robertson, who will share anchor duties with Ms. LaFlamme in the next year, will continue in other roles at the network, including as co-host of W5.
Ivan Fecan, president and chief executive officer, CTV Globemedia and Chief Executive Officer, CTV Inc., paid homage to the departing news veteran in a release on Thursday.
"We are all sorry to see him step down as anchor," said Mr. Fecan, "but we are buoyed by the fact that he will remain in the CTV family for as long as he likes and I personally hope that will be a very long time."
Mr. Robertson began his broadcast career in 1952 at CJCS radio in his hometown of Stratford, Ont. He switched to television two years later when he joined CBC and spent four years stationed in Winnipeg, followed by two years in Ottawa. His strong delivery and unflappable on-air presence eventually led to him anchoring CBC's The National.
In late 1976, Mr. Robertson joined CTV and for the next eight years he co-anchored CTV National News with Harvey Kirck. When Mr. Kirck retired in 1983, Mr. Robertson became the network's senior news anchor.
Over the years, Mr. Robertson became known for signing off each newscast with the catchphrase, "And that's the kind of day it's been."
Besides anchoring the nightly news, Mr. Robertson has been a key player in CTV's news coverage of special events, including breaking news, election coverage and the network's coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo and Calgary.
With a report from Jill Mahoney