Long-time Birmingham media personality Rick Karle is leaving the station.

Karle, co-host of WVTM 13 morning news in Birmingham, announced on this morning’s program he will be exiting the NBC station in December.

“Nothing more than a lifestyle thing,” he said. “It’s just that time.”

Karle jokingly said his future plans included either writing a book or becoming a Walmart greeter.

“It’s going to be hard to get out of my blood. Forty-three years of this,” he said, referring to his on-air media career.

Karle joined WVTM in 2019 after spending more than 35 years as a sports anchor in Birmingham, Jacksonville, Florida nd Hanover, New Hampshire. A native of Syracuse, New York, he’s active in the community through a variety of boards and non-profit organizations. Karle has received numerous awards, including a national Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting.