{"id":498155,"date":"2026-02-23T04:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T04:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498155\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T04:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T04:48:09","slug":"michael-rowland-leaving-the-abc-after-39-years-on-aussie-screens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498155\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Rowland leaving the ABC after 39 years on Aussie screens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beloved ABC journalist Michael Rowland is leaving the news organisation after almost four decades.<\/p>\n

The 7.30 National Affairs reporter shared his decision on News Breakfast and on his Instagram account this morning.<\/p>\n

“My wife, Nicki, who you all know, has been unwell over the last year or so,” he said on the breakfast program, which he hosted for 15 years.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelAfter 39 years of bringing Aussies the news, Michael Rowland is leaving the ABC. (Instagram\/Michael Rowland)<\/p>\n

“I’m wanting to spend more time with her and family and move at a gentler pace.”<\/p>\n

He later clarified via Instagram that his wife is “well and truly bouncing back” after her period of ill health.<\/p>\n

“Some of the headlines today have suggested she is at death’s door,” Rowland wrote as he shared a photo of the couple, taken on Saturday, as “proof of life”.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Nicki has been unwell over the last year or so, but is well and truly bouncing back.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

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In his initial Instagram post announcing his departure, Rowland wrote, “News just in\u2026 After 39 years, I am leaving the ABC.<\/p>\n

“It’s not easy walking away from my professional home of the last nearly four decades, but in so many respects this is the right decision for me and my family.”<\/p>\n

The journalist shared a photo from his first day at the ABC, where he started at age 18.\ufeff<\/p>\n

“I am tremendously grateful for the opportunities the ABC has given me since,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“I’ve done everything from the overnight police rounds shift as a cadet to presenting various national TV programs.<\/p>\n

“In return, I have devoted literally most of my life to the ABC and I am now keen to move on to the next stage – and spend more time with family and friends.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rowland became the co-host of News Breakfast in 2010, spending 15 years on the desk before leaving the role in December 2024.<\/p>\n

\ufeffHe was popular among viewers for both his calm composure and his penchance for a pun and a ‘dad joke’.<\/p>\n

\ufeff”I want to say a huge thank you to the ABC audience for watching, listening and reading over the years,” his post ended.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, I’ve left you all just a bit more informed from the thousands of stories I’ve reported and presented, and a bit brighter from my dubious gags on breakfast TV.<\/p>\n

“I’ve loved it all.”<\/p>\n

Rowland will finish at the end of this week, and told News Breakfast he would be working casually or part-time for the immediate future.<\/p>\n

Industry peers including Nine’s Peter Hitchener wished the presenter well in the comments.\ufeff<\/p>\n

“Congratulations Michael on everything you have achieved. Always the professional that you are,” Hitchener wrote.<\/p>\n

“Thank you for being my friend and I look forward to catching up again soon.\ufeff”<\/p>\n

“Huge decision, huge congrats. The outside world awaits,” comedian Sammy J wrote.\ufeff<\/p>\n

James Glenday, who replaced Rowland as co-host of News Breakfast, said, “You will be missed mate. Thanks for everything, even the Dad jokes.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beloved ABC journalist Michael Rowland is leaving the news organisation after almost four decades. The 7.30 National Affairs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-498155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}