Bob Schieffer to sign off of ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday

Bob Schieffer, a steady hand as host of CBS’s “Face the Nation” for 24 years, is heading into his last show Sunday before stepping down. 

Schieffer, 78, has been calmly and directly probing interviewees on the Sunday morning show since 1991. 

“I wanted to leave the job when I felt that I could still do it,” he explained on CBS in April after announcing his decision. “I didn’t want somebody to have to come up and grab me by the hand and say ‘Bob, it’s time to go.’ ”

{mosads}He will be replaced on the show, one of Washington’s main homes for lawmakers and pundits on Sunday mornings, by John Dickerson, currently the channel’s political director and a correspondent for Slate. 

Schieffer’s retirement comes at something of a tumultuous time for Sunday shows, facing upheaval from the new media landscape as well as from their own stars. 

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos has faced criticism for donating to the Clinton Foundation. NBC recently replaced host David Gregory with Chuck Todd in an effort to freshen up the show and boost ratings. 

Schieffer has steered clear of commenting on these issues. But he does argue the shows are still important.

“I think they’re extremely relevant,” he told USA Today. “When you look at Sunday shows, it’s different than the talking heads you see at other times of the day. Sunday network talk shows are still driven by trying to make news, to put a new top on the story.”

Schieffer will be closing out his show Sunday with another big interview, as he is joined by Jeb Bush, one of the frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination. 

Looking back over his long career, Schieffer points to the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, Watergate and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as the stories he will most remember. 

Schieffer reported from Vietnam for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, tracking the stories of soldiers from Texas. 

More recently, he has hosted presidential debates in the last three elections. 

“To me, it never seemed like a job,” Schieffer said of his career. “It just seemed like something really interesting and really fun.”