Judy Woodruff’s goodbye message to viewers as she departs NewsHour anchor desk

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• Judy Woodruff:

  And now I'm going to do something unusual. I am introducing a video that I know nothing about.

  It was produced as a surprise for me on this last night in the anchor chair by my colleagues Lisa Desjardins, Dan Sagalyn, and Hamada Hanoura.

  And here it is.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Judy Woodruff is the best of us.

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  Judy Woodruff is a total pro.

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  An icon.

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  Fair and balanced.

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  Tenacious.

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  And a model, not just in the newsroom, but in life.

• Hari Sreenivasan:

  Judy is tireless. She must have some sort of like secret nuclear core power source, like Iron Man.

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  I'm amazed at your stamina.

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  I just don't know how you do it.

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  Every time I walk out of Judy's office, I think, God, I am so lucky to work with this woman.

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  Judy Woodruff is a national treasure.

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  Judy is the gold standard of trustworthy journalism.

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  My North Star of journalism.

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  Triumph marked by struggles against adversity.

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  Judy Woodruff is, well, running late.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  But she is going to make her flight, probably.

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  Judy Woodruff is a champion for journalism…

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  … and youth voices.

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  Her reporting is valued and respected by so many Americans all over.

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  You're a mensch, Judy. You are — you're a good person.

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  Judy Woodruff is one of my role models.

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  Incredibly genuine and down to earth.

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  The nicest anchor I have ever had the pleasure to work with.

• Amna Nawaz:

  She is exactly the same person on camera as she is off.

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  Outstanding.

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  Incomparable.

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  Generous.

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  Judy is Judy. There's not many people like her. She's pretty special.

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  My grandfather is her number one fan, which I have told her many times. And she was so kind his past birthday to record three takes of her wishing him a happy birthday. It meant the world to him.

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  She has been a cheerleader for me throughout my career, and also just an incredible support for my family personally.

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  For 31 years, I had the privilege of working with Judy, Gwen, Robin, and Jim. Those four are the Mount Rushmore of American journalism.

• Nick Schifrin:

  I have never met someone who works as hard as Judy day in and day out.

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  Judy, you are a mentor, a rock star in the world of journalism. But, mostly, you're a lot of fun, like this night, 2008.

  (MUSIC)

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  Judy, we have spent a lot of blustery days like this one driving across Iowa and New Hampshire covering the presidential campaigns.

  I will always remember you juggling lots of calls from your kids, from political sources, from Al.

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  When we were in Las Vegas, when we were in Arizona, when we were in Florida, and, back then and still every day, I just am in awe of how she combines strength and kindness.

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  She's always looking to get depth and precision and facts and empathy for the people she's reporting on.

  And it doesn't matter what kind of deadline pressure she's under or what the schedule is like.

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  The kind of work I do, that we did wouldn't have been possible without all of the barriers you broke, the paths you paved, and the reputation you built.

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  Working with Judy on the obituaries for people across the country who have died of COVID-19, I got to see firsthand the amount of care and attention to detail she put into capturing the essence of every person we profiled.

• Hari Sreenivasan:

  I remember probably the most difficult night of television that I ever had to make, and hopefully ever will, was the night that our friend Gwen passed.

  To my friend and mentor, thank you, Gwen.

  And we had just finished the whole program, listening to all of these dear friends of Gwen and what she meant to them, and it was difficult, it was — to keep it together. But Judy did.

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  She took the time to stop what she was doing and shake my hand and said: "Welcome to the 'NewsHour.'"

  And it was — I was starstruck then. And, honestly, I'm still starstruck now.

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  She would always, always, always take time to say thank you and asked me how I was doing. And, sometimes, she would even compliment my sweaters.

  So, from the bottom of my heart and my wardrobe, thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Judy, I want to thank you for letting me achieve my goal in cutting your hair. I'm so happy.

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  Thank you for all your support through the years. And this is not goodbye.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Just thank you. Thank you.

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  We just can't thank you enough.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you for everything.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you, Judy.

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  Thank you so much for everything.

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  Thank you so much.

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  Judy, thank you so much.

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  Thank you.

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  Thanks, Judy.

• Speakers:

  Thanks, Judy.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Well, I can barely hold it together.

  But, as I turn over this special anchor desk, with its remarkable history, to the new team, just a few words to all of you about what it's meant to sit here, first as a substitute anchor in the 1980s and '90s, and then for the past 11 years through some of the most tumultuous events of our time, seven different presidential elections, the end of the Cold War, the start of many hot ones, and, most fresh in my mind, the COVID pandemic, the reckoning over race in America, mass shootings in schools and grocery stores, and our nation's deepening political divide.

  Through it all, I have tried to stay true to what the program's founders, Robin MacNeil and Jim Lehrer, believed so fiercely, that we're here to report, to tell you as accurately and fairly as we can what's going on in the world, and to let you make up your minds about what to think, and to have the courage, as my beloved co-anchor, Gwen Ifill, did, to ask the tough questions, to hold people in power accountable, and, I would add, to care enough about each one of you to respect you and your beliefs, what your lives are like.

  It has been the honor of a lifetime to be in this chair, to tell these hugely important stories, to share the worst and the best of humanity, all of which we need to hear to be the best possible citizens we can be, and, of course, to support the work done by my remarkable "NewsHour" colleagues.

  As you know, I am just the tip of the iceberg. They do the work day in and day out, hour in and hour out, that gets this program on the air. They research. They write. They produce. They take pictures and video. They adjust lighting and audio. They edit. They fix. They direct, all the things without which there would be no program.

  And on the digital side online, they do all that and more, plus streaming and social media. They don't sleep.

  And that's why I know, with all my brilliant on-air colleagues and the two new co-anchors, Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett, the "NewsHour" will not only thrive; it will soar.

  And just a reminder, I'm not leaving the "NewsHour." I will still be around as a correspondent, taking on a big project for the next couple of years called America at a Crossroads, trying to understand our country better and why we Americans seem so divided. I also plan to do some reporting on what people with disabilities face.

  And, finally, I want to thank you who are watching in the United States and around the world, the best viewers anywhere, concerned citizens, who hold us to a high standard every single day. Thank you for trusting us to tell it straight.

  I step away now with a heart full of gratitude for the singular opportunity to share the most critical stories of our time.

  And, as we say every evening: And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

  I'm Judy Woodruff.

  For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.

  (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

• Judy Woodruff:

  Thank you. Thank you. You guys are amazing.

  (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

• Judy Woodruff:

  Oh, my gosh.