The veteran Afrikaans TV news anchor Riaan Cruywagen (72) made a quiet exit on Thursday night as news anchor on kykNET Verslag on kykNET (DStv 144) bringing the curtain to a final close on his illustrious TV news reading career after more than four decades on the air on South African television.
With no pre-announcement to the press by kykNET of his exit, Riaan Cruywagen stunned viewers on the eve of the Easter holiday at the end of Thursday night's episode of kykNET Verslag when he told viewers he's leaving.
After leaving the SABC at the end of November 2012 after 37 years with the South African public broadcaster as the longest serving TV news anchor in South African television history, the never changing Riaan Cruywagen made the transition to high definition and joined kykNET from February 2013.
At kykNET he first anchored the news on the morning show Dagbreek, before transitioning to the evenings on M-Net's Afrikaans TV channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform for the past three years, after Dagbreek was cancelled.
"I'm also finally saying goodbye tonight after more than five wonderful years - first at Dagbreek and after that at kykNET Verslag," said Riaan Cruywagen at the end of the third season and episode 140 of kykNET Verslag.
"I'm now swapping the world of hard news and actuality for other TV work and new challenges but not without saying thank you to kykNET for the opportunity to broaden my horizons on this exceptional channel."
"I've worked with tens of creative and inspiring people, as well as at kykNET and with the producers of our programme, IdeaCandy - and in my old days I've learnt a lot from them. If I can mention only a few names - because there's tens of them - I'm saying thank you very much to Karen Meiring (kykNET channel head) and Tim du Plessis (head of actuality) of kykNET and Wim Steyn (executive producer) and Wynette Theart (producer) van IdeaCandy and their personnel."
"The most unsung mainstays were our studio crew without which no programme can ever make it onto the air - my director Rudi Botha and his team and my editor Werner Swart and his able journalists."
"But finally, to you, our appreciated viewers, thank you for your dedicated support over the years. I wish you all of the best. Well, enjoy the long weekend and go well."
kykNET in response to a media enquiry as to why there was no announcement to the media, told TVwithThinus that the channel took Cruywagen's direction about how he wanted to communicate his exit and up until Thursday morning he didn't want to involve the media.
kykNET says Riaan Cruywagen will remain as the presenter of Met 'n Huppel in die Stap, kykNET's Afrikaans magazine show focusing on the challenges, joys and life advice for people after 50.
kykNET produced a short tribute goodbye video in which his family including his wife, daughter and grandson, as well as other Afrikaans TV news readers like Marietta Kruger and Suzaan Steyn, shared special messages.
