Veteran broadcaster Jon Snow bid farewell to the audience, saying presenting Channel 4 News for 32 years has been the “greatest privilege” of his life.
The 74-year-old journalist, the longest-serving presenter in the program’s history, is withdrawing from the show after 32 years.
He will continue to work on longer-term projects with Channel 4 and spend more time focusing on his charitable work.
After a 15-minute segment that ended tonight’s show, he ended the show by saying: ‘I’m nothing in this studio, without the important technical and journalism teams that night to make sure Channel 4 news has you. Returns.
‘The joy of working here is thanks to the teams and their skills – technicians and journalists – and the visionary government, regulators, who have given us an hour of free news in prime time.
‘Thank you to all the people who have trusted me with their stories even around the world, often in appalling circumstances, but most of all, I am very grateful to have you at home – yes, you are sitting there.
‘It’s not always an easy watch. We don’t always get away with it and we don’t always get it right.
But your hunger to know more about the world, to hear different voices, to get closer to the truth, has been the greatest privilege of my life to bring this news to you. Thanks. Be safe That is channel 4 news. Good evening.
The camera then followed John as he walked through the Channel 4 studio for applause, cheers and confetti, before closing in with a montage of some of his greatest moments.
The Channel 4 team paid tribute to John in the credits, listing him as Voice, Mentor, Leader, Inspiration, Driving Force, Moral Compass, and Friend.
It ended with a message that read: ‘We are all very happy and proud to be working with you, we stand on your shoulders, thank you.’
Jon Snow bid farewell to the audience and said that presenting Channel 4 News for 32 years has been the “greatest privilege” of his life. Image: John says goodbye to tonight’s show
Allies pay tribute to Jon Snow ahead of his final Channel 4 news event tonight
A montage of Snow’s memorable career moments was played during the event.
Scenes from Colombia, Scotland, Japan, Greenland and the US were played, as well as interview moments including Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Liam Gallagher, Marcus Rashford and Hillary Clinton.
In a voiceover he was heard saying: ‘I think about my job as an informer. I am totally impressed by the people.
‘I really like to inquire about people, about the life they live, about their problems, about their hopes, about their dreams.
‘And I mean, that’s the inspiration of any journalist, to know what makes the world a better or worse place.
‘One has to be careful with one’s feelings and I may have been overly emotional in my reporting, I don’t know but I don’t regret it. To be yourself more than anything.
‘Keep your eyes open. Keep your ears open. And keep your feelings alive. And if you are influenced by what you see, hear or feel, then explore that.’
Sir Trevor McDonald and Gordon Brown were among those paying tribute to John on tonight’s event, along with Jamie Oliver, Nicola Sturgeon and finally Ch 4 news editor Ben de Pierre.
The veteran news presenter is stepping back from The Tonight Show after 32 years
Snow and her long career were paid tribute to her colleagues, fellow broadcasters and politicians before and after the show.
Channel 4’s director of news communications Halle Barlow shared a photo on Twitter of Snow looking out into the newsroom.
She wrote: ‘Going to be an emotional day, working our last shift together before Channel 4 news dims at 8pm.’
Snow has previously stated that when she debuted on Channel 4 she ignored instructions not to wear bright colors and wanted to make a ‘little splash’ while on air and not look ‘aggressively boring’ .
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: ‘Jon Snow is a British institution and always will be.
‘John, your charitable work is less well known but gives credit to your idealism.
Jon Snow and his wife Precious Lunga at lunch to celebrate their BAFTA fellowship in May 2015
Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow is pictured reporting from Sri Lanka in January 2016
Jon Snow reporting for Channel 4 from the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan
Jon Snow in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, which he also covered for Channel 4 News
Jon Snow (left) is pictured as Margaret Thatcher arrives at Number 10 Downing Street to take office as prime minister following a Conservative victory in the general election in May 1979.
‘You deserve all our thanks for showing us that a better world is possible in this world, even in the midst of evil and injustice.’
It was previously announced that Snow would continue working with Channel 4 on long-form projects and spend more time focusing on his charitable work.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described him as ‘one of the best journalists in the UK’.
‘A top interviewer but also a very knowledgeable interviewer,’ she said.
‘But more than any of these there is only one all-round man. So I hope leaving can give you some more time to spend here in Scotland.’
Snow’s career in journalism began at LBC in 1973, before transferring to ITN in 1976, where he served as the Washington correspondent and diplomatic editor.
He then became the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989.
Ahead of Jon Snow’s final show on Thursday evening, friends and colleagues paid tribute to the journalism legend.
Channel 4 News correspondent Ciaran Jenkins shared a video of Snow performing a sea shack that went viral on TikTok earlier this year.
He wrote on Twitter: ‘Veteran @jonsnowC4 presents @Channel4News for the last time tonight. A brilliant journalist, unparalleled communicator and an inspiration to many of us.’
Referring to the words of the hut, he said: ‘One day when the tongue is gone, we will take leave and go away.’
‘We will miss you very much, John.’
ITV News presenter Lucrezia Millarini called Snow a ‘legend’.
He added: ‘Wow. My on-screen presence in my home continues to grow. Then I was lucky that I got a chance to work in the same building.
Adam Fowler, a reporter for ITV Yorkshire, called Snow’s departure “the end of an era”.
He said: ‘I’ve been a fan my entire career. Will be missed a lot.’
Jon Snow: Acclaimed journalist with a long career and a love of jazzy socks and ties
An acclaimed and well-known broadcaster whose journalism career began nearly 50 years ago, Jon Snow will step down as presenter of Channel 4 News at the end of 2021.
Known for his love of flashy nudes and silky ties, he has been a staple of the channel’s news program for over 32 years.
Snow, 73, began his career in journalism in 1973 for Independent Radio News, LBC.
He joined ITN, which produces Channel 4 News, in 1976 and served as the Washington correspondent from 1983 to 1986 before serving as diplomatic editor from 1989 to 1986.
Jon Snow interviews Idi Amin in Uganda in one of his most famous reports in 1977
He became the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989 and has since traveled the world covering elections, revolutions and conflicts, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; the fall of the Berlin Wall; Nelson Mandela’s release; and the elections of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Tony Blair and Barack Obama.
Born in Sussex in 1947, he grew up at Ardingly College where his father was headmaster.
In 2013 he revealed in a blog post on the Channel 4 website that when he was six years old, he was abducted and abused by a member of the school’s staff.
After leaving school he spent a year teaching as a VSO volunteer in Uganda and described it as the most radical experience of his life.
Mr Snow interviews Monica Lewinsky at her parents’ New York home in February 1999
He credits his determination to return to Africa with his decision to enter journalism, feeling that going back was the best way.
About 10 years later, ITN sent him to Uganda to cover the coup of Idi Amin.
Over the years he has won awards including the Richard Dimbleby BAFTA Award for Best Factual Contribution to UK Television and the Royal Television Society Award for Journalist of the Year and is a five-time winner of the Presenter of the Year award.
In 2015 he was awarded BAFTA’s highest honour, the Fellowship.
Giving a McTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in 2017, she said that the management of media companies should be ashamed of ensuring equal pay for women and called on organizations for the lack of diversity in media.
He also revealed that he had taken a pay cut at Channel 4’s request and said that he felt it was the right thing to do.
Channel 4 says Mr Snow will offer ‘long-form projects’ for broadcaster from 2022
He sparked controversy in 2019, a day after Brexit-related rallies and protests broke out, saying he had ‘never seen so many white people in one place’.
More than 2,700 people complained to regulator Ofcom, making it the most-complained program of 2019, and Channel 4 said it regretted any offense caused by the ‘unscripted observation’.
Ofcom found that the comment did not violate the TV Rules.
Earlier this year, Snow, who has two daughters from his relationship with human rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, announced that he and his wife Precious Lunga HD welcomed a baby boy together.
They announced that the couple had a child with a surrogate on March 2 after ‘multiple medical failures and miscarriages’.
Snow and Lunga, a 46-year-old academic from Zimbabwe, tied the knot in 2010.
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