Lloyd Robertson’s last newscast

Lloyd Robertson announced his retirement last July, but now there’s a date.

“There are some old codgers out there from the newspaper industry saying, ‘Is this guy really going to do it this time? I mean he’s talked about it before and it never happened. Is he really going to go?'” said Robertson last week at CTV’s upfront, “Well yes, you can take this one to the bank: my final day, my last newscast, will be on Thursday Sept. 1 2011. There it is.”

Lisa LaFlamme’s first broadcast as CTV’s national news anchor is Monday, Sept. 5.

LaFlamme, who also spoke at the upfront, thanked Robertson for his guidance over the years, especially over the past year, she said, since Robertson first announced his retirement.

She added:

“There are two things I know for sure. The first thing is I am ready and I am excited about the future, the dynamic new leadership of the company under Kevin and the newsroom under Wendy … The second thing that I know for sure, is I will never be voted the most trusted man in Canada, but it is this man that really has taught me so much, not just about news judgment, but about longevity in the business and  most importantly about leadership. So on Labour Day we get down to work.

Robertson started hosting at CTV in 1976. He became the chief anchor and senior editor in 1983.