DAVID JOHNSON, WHO IS RETIRING DEC. 13, 2024, WAS PART OF THE LONGEST-RUNNING ANCHOR TEAM WITH PEGGY FINNEGAN IN PITTSBURGH TV HISTORY. | PHOTO COURTESY NANCY POLINSKY JOHNSON

David Johnson has sat in the anchor chair at WPXI-TV for the nighttime broadcasts for 35 years. He’s now retiring after a 40-year career and will be in that spot just one last time at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13.

So what is he looking forward to?

• Having dinner with his wife, Nancy Polinsky Johnson. And getting home before midnight. So many times he heard about all the lectures and Broadway shows his wife and family got to attend that evening — without him.
• Having more freedom to travel — particularly during February, May and November. Those are the TV rating sweeps months, and it was vital that he be in that anchor chair every weeknight of each of those months.
• Being able to do things during the day without constantly looking at his watch to make sure he’s on time. (You can’t be late for TV news). He loves taking dog walks or shooting baskets at the Y. He’s looking forward “to being able to do that without looking at my watch and saying, ‘All right, I’ve gotta go.’ “

He’ll of course also be able to spend more time with his grown children and grandchildren. Two young granddaughters live in Italy with their family.

And what will he miss most?

“The people. I love walking into the newsroom. I love walking in, and you get a vibe immediately.”

DAVID JOHNSON’S CUBICLE IN THE WPXI-TV NEWSROOM. | PHOTO COURTESY NANCY POLINSKY JOHNSON

The Florida native who grew up in Daytona Beach actually turned down a noon anchor job at WPXI when it was first offered to him in late 1984. A proud 1980 graduate of the University of Florida, he had worked on the air in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and in Atlanta before coming to Pittsburgh.

Nancy, his then-girlfriend, urged him to “just take the interview” if WPXI called again. It did. It wasn’t a pretty day in Pittsburgh when he arrived for the interview, but when he came through the Fort Pitt Tunnels the view “blew me away,” he says. “Holy cow.”

He signed a three-year contract and started anchoring the noon news and also was a reporter. He was promoted to the nighttime broadcasts in 1989. A year later he was paired with co-anchor Peggy Finnegan, and they worked together for 31 years – the longest running anchor team in the history of Pittsburgh TV. Finnegan, who had later moved to the noon broadcasts, retired in 2020, although she has returned for special appearances. Johnson, 67, has anchored the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts and the 6:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts for Pittsburgh Fox affiliate WPGH-TV.

He’s known for his passion for the Florida Gators, and his heavily cluttered cubicle decorated in all things orange and blue is infamous in the newsroom. After his last day on the air, he’ll return Saturday morning to remove all the regalia, memorabilia, knick knacks and more. “I know it’s going to take a couple of hours because I’ve got stickers of Gator things, Florida things and I’m gonna have to get a razor blade to get it off.”

That will be bittersweet for all.

“I’ve heard a number of people say ‘When I walk by, and it’s not all this crazy junk on your desk, it’s gonna hit me that you’re not here.’ “