Veteran journo quits after nearly 40 years
A veteran ABC journalist has announced he’s stepping back from the national broadcaster to focus on family and move at a “gentler pace”.
Source: ABC News Breakfast
Veteran journalist Michael Rowland is leaving the ABC, after nearly four decades with the national broadcaster.
Rowland announced his decision on ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning – the show he co-hosted for 15 years.
“I’ve marked 39 years in the last couple of weeks or so, and when you know, you know,” the 57-year-old said.
“I’ve had a great ride at the ABC, a charmed career, including back in the early days.
“It’s just the right time for my family, my friends. Just to step back from full time work, [and] move on to the next stage of life.”
Rowland joined the ABC as a cadet in 1987. He has also worked for the ABC in Canberra and Washington and on its business team.
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He began his 15 years at ABC News Breakfast in 2010, working alongside Virginia Trioli and, later, Lisa Millar as co-host.
Rowland left the program in December 2024, and most recently was national affairs reporter for 7.30.
He said it had been a “great ride” at the national broadcaster and he was excited for his next adventure. Unfortunately, however, it’s not all good news for him and his family.
“I have devoted literally most of my life at the ABC, and as you would all know, and the people at 7:30 that I’m working with at the moment, and all the other parts of the ABC, I never give less than 100 per cent in whatever job I’m doing,” he said.
“I just want to step back and lower the pace a bit.
“My wife, Nikki, who you all know, has been a bit unwell over the last year or so, and [I want] to spend more time with with her and the wider family.
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“Just move at a more, gentler pace. I’ll do some part-time casual gigs here and there.”
Rowland and his wife met in the early 2000s when both were working as political journalists in Canberra. They married in 2002 and have two adult children.
On Monday, he said some of his career highlights included being in the US when Barack Obama was first elected as president, and being in the Canberra press gallery in the 1990s during the prime ministerships of Paul Keating and John Howard.
“That was a great time to be a political journalist, when the political debate was a bit more mature than it is these days,” he said.
He said moving on was “bittersweet”.
“I just hope I’ve left the viewers who have watched my stuff, read my stuff, listened to my stuff… slightly more informed over the years,” he said.
ABC news director Justin Stevens paid tribute to Rowland.
“I’ve known Michael for a number of years and always hugely valued his experience, reliability and heft. I’ve seen first-hand his commitment to audiences and quality news services and his passion for the ABC and public broadcasting,” he said.
“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. It has been a privilege to work alongside him.”
