Veteran journalist Andrea Mitchell will step down from her full-time anchoring duties on the ailing MSNBC network this Friday after a 17-year run.

After more than four decades at NBC News tirelessly delivering hard-hitting interviews and foreign policy coverage from the anchor chair, Mitchell’s departure at the age of 78 leaves a gap in the schedule that the network has yet to fill.

Last year she announced she will be stepping back from her daily show to focus on what she loves most – reporting from the field.

She has been in the channel’s daytime lineup since 2008, longer than anyone else at the network.

While she will no longer hold a daily slot on MSNBC, Mitchell will remain NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent and chief Washington correspondent, ensuring her voice will not be lost entirely.

‘After 16 years of being in the anchor chair every day, I want time to do more of what I love the most: connecting, listening, and reporting in the field,’ Mitchell told her viewers in October.

Her departure is an acknowledgment of the shifting tides in both global affairs and domestic politics.

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Veteran NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, 78, will step down from her full-time anchoring duties on the ailing MSNBC network this Friday after a 17-year run as host of Andrea Mitchell Reports

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Mitchell, who has been with NBC for 47 years, began hosting her Andrea Mitchell Reports in 2008

Mitchell’s career has been nothing short of legendary. She has covered every US presidential campaign since 1980, providing unparalleled analysis and direct access to world leaders.

Her ability to command interviews with the most powerful figures in the world has also made her one of the most trusted voices in journalism.

NBC executives lauded Mitchell’s contributions in an internal memo, calling her ‘one of the country’s foremost and most trusted experts on foreign policy and domestic politics’.

They further praised her ‘deep sourcing and ability to land the biggest-name news-making interviews’.

NBC added in its statement that Mitchell’s ‘contributions to NBC News over the last 46 years have been invaluable to the network, and we are so please that she will remain an essential part of the News Group for years to come’.

Her transition comes amid a time of upheaval at NBC and MSNBC. Just last week, longtime Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd bid farewell to NBC News after nearly two decades, signaling an ongoing transformation within the network.

Meanwhile, MSNBC president Rashida Jones also stepped down, leaving the channel at a crossroads.

At the end of last year, NBC saw exits from other veteran anchors, including former Nightline co-anchor and investigative journalist Cynthia McFadden, and Harry Smith, who had been with the outlet for 12 years.

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MSNBC President Rashida Jones, above, left the company following a tough election season where the network struggled for viewership

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Jones reportedly decided to leave after ‘an intense cycle’, with star anchor Rachel Maddow to returning to a five-night hosting schedule after viewership returns saw MSNBC lose ground to rivals CNN and Fox

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In January Hoda Kotb, 60, an anchor on The Today Show, stepped back from her morning program to focus more on her young children

Hoda Kotb, an anchor on The Today Show, stepped back from her morning program last month to focus more on her young children.

Former CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell shocked viewers in August after quitting her anchor and managing editor roles.

O’Donnell departed the broadcast last month after leading the show for five years and spent 12 years as a network anchor.

As to what will replace Andrea Mitchell Reports remains uncertain, as MSNBC has not yet announced a successor or replacement program.

Mitchell’s departure is emblematic of a larger shift in the television news industry.

Legacy media giants, including MSNBC and CNN, are struggling to retain their dominance as streaming services and digital platforms reshape how audiences consume news.

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CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell shocked stepped down from the iconic broadcast last month quitting her anchor and managing editor roles

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Last week Chuck Todd bid farewell to NBC News after nearly two decades, signaling an ongoing transformation within the network

Amid financial strain, MSNBC has reportedly asked some of its headline stars, including Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle, to accept pay cuts to remain on-air.

Even Rachel Maddow, once the network’s golden child, took a significant salary reduction from her $30 million annual deal.

As the network contends with these changes, Mitchell’s move to step down as a daily anchor but remain a field reporter reflects her commitment to journalism.

‘From primaries, debates, elections, and inaugurals here at home… to breaking news around the globe – my goal will continue, as it has always been, to bring you, our viewers, the major newsmakers shaping our country and the world right here on MSNBC,’ she said in a message to viewers last October.