Trailblazing journalist Janet Wu retires after 50 years

January 2, 2023

Janet Wu, a trailblazing Asian American journalist in Boston, has retired on New Year’s Day after 50 years of service.

Wu is the first woman and first Asian American to serve as a Massachusetts State House television reporter, according to WCVB, where she spent most of her career covering politics. She last appeared at the ABC-affiliate station’s “On The Record” show Sunday night.

“While I’m really an outdoor cat, this has been so much fun,” Wu said at the show, which she had co-hosted since 2009.

Wu is an inductee to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, as well as the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting, according to the Boston Herald. She also won an Emmy from the Boston/New England division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and was inducted into its Silver Circle in 2020.

The veteran journalist thanked viewers in her parting words on Sunday.

“For you the viewers, folks who have called and texted and complained and yelled at me and given me tips…to help me break stories over the five decades: thank you. You know who you are. I’m really grateful I could end the last quarter of my career here at WCVB,” she said.

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