The Daily Need

Alison signs off

By

September 9, 2011

When the time is right, the time is right.  That saying applies to my decision to leave Need to Know to finish a book I’ve been working on for years. Yes, years.  Now it is due to my publisher in March 2012 and I want to do a great job.   But I also want to do the best I can at my place of employment, and I want to be  there for my family. As many working mothers know, the constant juggle between the professional and the personal is tricky.  In order to achieve a reasonable balance, something has got to give.

When I learned the show  was  going to shift focus and turn toward the political, it seemed I had to consider bowing out.   I’ve covered politics before, gone on the campaign trail, covered conventions.  I can tell you it isn’t for the faint-hearted or the already overscheduled.  So when the time is right, the time is right.

I leave you in good hands. The staff of NTK is dedicated and wonderful.  There are good things to come. I’ll be watching — and I hope you will too.

You can keep up with Alison Stewart’s upcoming book and future projects at AlisonStewart.net.

Last modified: September 9, 2011 at 11:25 pm
 
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Comments

  • Anonymous

    You will be missed, Alison.  Your dedication and your warmth really shine through.  May your book-writing endeavor be rewarding on all levels.

    Jim S.

  • Ryeneck Brian

    Allison: You will be missed!  You along with Rachel and Mellisa On MSNBC are Models not only for Woman but all commentators on the happenings in our World. 
    I acknowledge you choice and the Strength it took!!  Again you are a Model!!
    I look foward to your insights!!  Thank You!!!

  • Ohpuhleez1

    Allison- You had a place in my home every week, so it’ll be a void deeply felt.  Best of luck with your book, and in all your endeavors.

  • Liqhawe

    ah…! Allison I am always reminded to pay in-depth attention my surroundings because of your fine journalism. I contribute to my public station for your efforts. Though I understand the importance of personal growth (why!, on your lead, I might quit my job and get to bucket list) you will be sorely missed.
    I will pick up your book.
    And we’re left with Jon?… tall order.
    (I’m joking Jon)

  • whatever

    Good luck in everything you do.  

  • Andrewsl3

    I wonder what the book is about, “Hmmm” maybe “Young Communists and their place in the future of America”?

  • Julia

    Alison,

    Although NTK’s “turn toward the political” influenced your decision to leave, it is so fitting for you to have left us your 9/9/11 interview with David Potorti of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows . . . because this brief interview carries within it the cure for the unspeakable worldwide suffering endured by innocent people and caused by all of the political wrangling, posturing, sabre-rattling, power-mongering, god-threatening, money-laundering, weapons-buying, selling, shipping, hoarding, and using.

    Peace is more than the absence of war, and making it happen is not for the faint-hearted or narrow-minded. Many thanks to you and David P. for pointing the way in this interview. Now, if only we would listen and act . . .

  • Jackrabbit183

    Alison, sorry to see you go, have followed your career since ance o over nite .You and Oprah kept me aware of what was going on. I am a chef – caterer, my hours are crazy . So would catch up with the world watching your show. Good Luck with your book and life .
    Alice Wilson

  • Susan T. Mills

    Alison-I will miss your kind and confident presence.  I, too, made a big shift in my life last year.  I let go of my career as a sign language interpreter to take a job with a car sharing organization, following my heart to be more active in the field of sustainability.  Life is short and pursuing your bliss will always be the right path for you.  Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.  You are an inspiration to all of us.

    Sue

  • http://www.facebook.com/chrislarry Chris Lawrence

    really? wow

  • Atan44

    I deeply regret Need to Know’s decision to become just another noisy bunch of chattering pols. And I’ll miss your insights and occasional humor. Oh well, nothing good ever lasts.

  • Ontherealproductions

    Physics tells me that change is like alternating polarities.
    Magnetic poles share common traits with what you call
    “The time is right”.
    Therefore, much is right about your decision to leave
    the show.
    Your human existence and the net magnetism of your
    spirit is what moved you.
    People are not as rational as they believe sometimes, but…
    spiritual gifts allow us to be and move according to essoteric
    motivations hardly understood by those locked inside a
    closed matrix!
    Peace to you and blessings…

  • Jackson Kennethm

    Thank you Alison, your stewardship as moderator for NTK, was a prime for viewing the progam each week. The programs were very informative, and contained valuable information, not normally seen on other media shows, i view.. Your decision to move on, illistrates your professionalism, and unique character,, I will miss you on NTK, nad hope that the program changes planned for the future, will be a fulfilling as what I have experienced thus far.. GBU, Alison Stewart..

    Ken J..VA.

  • Kate

    I’ve so enjoyed your work and I’m upset that you won’t be with us in the future!  Not so sure Need to Know will the the same!  Won’t you come back?

  • Ladida

    red baiting!  terrible!

  • jada

    well…i am certainly sorry you are leaving as i have just begun to regularly watch due to your calm yet no-questions-barred approach to interviewing. You always framed your question with an  educationally informative set-up so one could understand both the question and the answer in the full context.
    i have just done what i’m sure many people have done……bookmarked your website..thanks

  • Gina Bennett

    First Jon Meacham, now you. I don’t know where they’ll find the talent to fill the voidf. Good luck!

  • LH

    They started with a great show with Alison and Jon – Jon leaves but at least we get his wonderful comments, Alison leaves and we are going to get a 1/2 hour show about an election that doesn’t even take place for 13 1/2 months. Why oh why aren’t we busy talking about the 2016 election – maybe we should think about the British way – five weeks of campaigning??? this is ridiculous

  • Matt

    My heart is heavy with the news of your departure but I wish you much success following your dreams !

  • Matt

    My heart is heavy with the news of your departure but I wish you much success following your dreams !

  • Sandy Mathews

    Good for you!!  I will watch for your book.  Good luck in future endeavors.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kendall-Tawes/1735587755 Kendall Tawes

    Why would you quote “Hmmm”? Your lack of proper grammar matches your lack of respect and education.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kendall-Tawes/1735587755 Kendall Tawes

    I am really going to miss you and the show’s current format. I was a big fan of NOW and was glad to see the quality of this show often matched the excellence I experienced with NOW. I don’t think this new format is going to work out. I surely hope it doesn’t dematerialise into another arguing head programme that floods the airwaves. News is facts and not people of either side pulling figures out of the air. The stories NTW offered were unique in this atmosphere and I feel a real loss. I dearly hope I am wrong and the new NTW will continue being a great programme with just a slightly more political bent.

  • Shermandemetrius

    Stewart and Lewis did such an excellent job. I recall a great story that was so well done, fair and balanced. Stewart was great,
    I have a hard time believing the program  will be better or just as good  with their absence.
    Even if they wanted to  go  I wouldn’t let them go.

  • Random Dude

    Great, another talking head political show. I won’t be watching. Terrible idea.

  • HarryBectoris

    I tuned in last night and thought “what’s going on”, so came to the site to
    to find the news.  Sorry to see you go Alison, good luck with the book.
    I do kind of like the show is down to 30 minutes.

  • John W. Fenner

    This is Not good news. Jon and Alison were Need To Know. And slashing a half hour off the show? Really? Well PBS has a certain knack for shooting itself in the foot as we all Know. Well good luck with that then….

  • Anonymous

    I wish Ms. Stewart happiness and success in her future endeavors.

    The show was great in its one hour format. The new 30 minute format, I’m afraid, hasn’t left room for the kind of depth the show started out with. Let’s hope it’s a brief experiment.

  • Don_liston

    I went to
    Need to Know on PBS tonight and wondered how you are doing. Like most viewers,
    I thought of how lucky we were to have you on PBS for a while. I am an 82 year
    old male who quit describing myself or anyone else by their “color.”
    I am Caucasian and I lived through World War II, the Korean War, the Civil
    Rights Era, the Cold War (what an oxymoron!), the Fall of the Wall and several
    disastrous Republican presidents.

    When this
    book is finished, I hope that you will write on America’s lack of understanding
    or willingness to travel to or learn about other people. There is so much
    rubbish published beginning with “., … everyone in the Middle East hates
    Americans.” Our press creates this problem by focusing on the negatives,
    the hate demonstrations, etc.

    Thank you
    for your service to all of us. You are a great asset to America.

  • Carlos

    I am a huge fan of the show but have not tuned in for a while.  Tonight I learned that both Alison and Jon were signing off and that the show is only half an hour. You don’t know what you got until it’s gone.