Barbara Walters, 83, announced this morning on her show, The View, that she will be retiring next summer. Walters has worked for ABC News for 37 years now. Until her official retirement in Summer 2014, she will still anchor her signature specials and remain executive producer and host of “The View”, which she created in 1997.
Walters began her career in the 1950’s writing for The Morning Show on CBS. This helped land her first on-air job in 1961, as a co-host on NBC’s Today Show. Walters recalled on her show, The View, this morning, “I was hired for 13 weeks as a writer and on-air reporter for the ‘Today’ show. I stayed with that show for 15 years.” Barbara Walters was also the first female anchor on “ABC Evening News” starting in 1976.
She has been in this business for five decades and believes that now may be the right time to finally confirm her retirement. Her co-host, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, asked how Walters knew this was the right time to retire. Walters responded “I know it’s time. I want to leave when people are still saying, ‘Why is she leaving?’ instead of, ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’ I know that one more year would be enough [time].”
What do you think of Barbara Walters’ retirement? Do you think The View should continue without her?
