WGBH’s Emily Rooney Steps Back From Daily News

After hosting noncommercial WGBH Boston’s award-winning Greater Boston for 18 years and working the daily grind in newsrooms at WCVB Boston, ABC and Fox for 25 years before that, Emily Rooney has decided to step back from her daily newsroom and Greater Boston duties to focus on the station’s weekly Beat the Press.

In addition to moderating Beat the Press, Rooney will move into a role in January as a special correspondent to WGBH News and will continue to appear regularly on WGBH-FM.

“We are extremely indebted to Emily for her guidance and commitment to WGBH’s local coverage of issues and newsmakers. For so many years Emily was WGBH News,” said WGBH Radio General Manager Phil Redo, who also oversees WGBH News. “On behalf of everyone connected to the news department, we thank her for the first 18 years with WGBH, and look forward to the many still ahead in her new and only slightly adjusted role.”

“When I came to WGBH in 1997, I was an on-air rookie tasked with shaping a nightly news and public affairs show that would be accessible to everyone,” Rooney said. “I’m proud of the program we’ve fine-tuned over the years and grateful to WGBH for giving me the chance to reinvent myself. It all happened in large part due to the loyal and dedicated staff who have stayed with the show all these years.”

Before joining WGBH, Rooney was director of political coverage and special events at Fox Network in New York. Prior to that, she was executive producer of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. She worked at WCVB Boston from 1979 to 1993, including three years as the local ABC affiliate’s news director.

In the coming months, Redo will consider options for filling Rooney’s role on Greater Boston.