Veteran MS Now anchor Alex Witt broke down crying during her emotional farewell, signing off for the final time after being with the network for almost three decades. Witt, 65, first began her career with what was then MSNBC in 1999, hosting a three-hour program on weekend afternoons called Alex Witt Reports in 2011.
During her tenure as a broadcaster, Witt has covered a wide variety of major stories, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, royal weddings, and horrific disasters like Hurricane Katrina. MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler stated in a staff memo in June that Witt had decided to “conclude her tenure with the company…following an extraordinary career.”
Kutler then stated that she calculated the number of hours Witt had on the air and found it was more than any other host on the network since the launch of MSNBC in 1996, which is an impressive accomplishment, even for a left-leaning outlet. While Witt is calling it quits, she’s not disappearing entirely from the world of broadcast journalism.
According to a report from The Daily Beast, Witt will still be seen making guest host appearances for daytime shows for the rest of the year. The weekend timeslot she has occupied for almost 30 years will be filled by The Assignment with Antonia Hylton. Hylton, a former reporter for NBC, referred to Witt as a “legend and the Mayor of MS NOW.”
During her final show, a variety of guests and panelists shared personal tributes to Witt, who at one point, said, “Let’s move on before I start crying, I do have waterproof mascara on today.” At the conclusion of the program, producers aired a package of highlights from Witt’s journalistic career that lasted for over 10 minutes, which was introduced by the host.
“Let’s go now to our last moments together, because there’s a great line from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” she said, before adding, “So with that in mind, I want to take a moment with all of you to look around at the stories, the people, and a job that has allowed me to report, in many cases, the rough draft of history for 27 years.”
After the package concluded, Witt thanked her staff for taking the time to dig through the “deep archives” of her on-screen broadcast career. As she started to thank her “longtime” producer, Nick Kovijanic, she choked up, doing her best to fight back tears. A photograph of Witt and Kovijanic popped up on screen.
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“Oooh, I knew it would be hard to get to this. You’re a champion, Nick. You fought for me, this show, our team… You’ve been my rudder through all of this. I promise to keep staring in that direction,” she said, full of emotion. As the camera cut back to the retiring host, she told the audience, “You guys have heard me talk about Nick so much.”
She then welcomed the crew on set with her, calling them her “village” where they joined her in front of the camera. As the show ended, Witt said, “It has been such a privilege to earn your trust delivering the news. I’m grateful for your loyalty, keeping me right here in this anchor chair all these years doing this job that I love. Thank you.” The show ended with Witt signing off, saying, “That’s going to do it for me on this edition of Alex Witt Reports. Enjoy your holidays!” as the crew clapped for her.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video