Jim Gardner, longtime 6abc anchor and familiar face in Philadelphia local news for 44 years, will retire at the end of the next year, writes Rob Tornoe for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gardner plans to dial back his schedule beginning in January, when he will no longer be hosting the 11 p.m. edition of 6abc’s Action News. He will still be anchoring at 6 p.m., alongside Ducis Rodgers and Cecily Tynan, until his retirement kicks in.

“I look forward, for instance, to being able to watch a Sixers game on television with my wife, or, my goodness — to even go to a game on a weeknight,” said Gardner. “It is a lifestyle I haven’t experienced in 45 years.”

Gardner had considered retiring several times before but decided against it because the news was so interesting to cover, whether it was the COVID-19 pandemic or former President Donald Trump’s tenure.

“The whole Trump phenomenon was an extraordinary political story,” Gardner said. “I’m kind of a politics nerd, and it was something I wanted to have within the boundaries of my broadcast career.”

This time, though, there was no changing his mind.

“It’s time,” he said.

Read more about Jim Gardner in The Philadelphia Inquirer.