Veteran CBC correspondent Henry Champ is retiring after more than four decades in journalism. (CBC)

Veteran CBC correspondent Henry Champ bade an emotional farewell to television viewers on air Friday morning, as the Manitoban reporter retired after a journalism career spanning more than four decades.

As his last day approached, Champ said, his thoughts frequently returned to "the marvellous contact that I had with Canadians all my life."

"When you're in television, it's kind of special because people see you and they think they know you, and they come up and talk to you frequently," he said.

"Occasionally people will walk down the streets in Washington — who are visiting from Canada — and they'll spot me and we'll have wonderful conversations. That was the best part of the job."

Though he began his journalism career as a print reporter in Manitoba, Champ is best known for his many years in television.

He spent 15 years at CTV, serving as an investigative reporter at W5 and as a news correspondent and bureau chief in Washington, London and Montreal. During that time, he was also among the last correspondents to leave Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and was among the first Canadian journalists admitted into the People's Republic of China.

'Newspaperman in Brandon'

He later moved to NBC News, where he spent 10 years covering politics from European bureaus and in Washington.

In 1993, Champ joined CBC, where his jobs have ranged from being part of the anchor team of CBC Morning News to his most recent post as CBC Newsworld's Washington correspondent.

On Friday, Champ hearkened back to getting his start in journalism as a "newspaperman in Brandon" in 1960.

"I was making $191 a month, and I remember thinking to myself … that if I could be called a good journeyman reporter by the time I was 45 — by my colleagues — that would be a wonderful career. And I think I made it," he said, his voice breaking.

"I hope people understand that I'm crying not because I'm sad, but just because it was a hell of a ride and every minute was enjoyable."

Champ has accepted a three-year term as chancellor with his alma mater, Brandon University, which in 2005 recognized him with an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Though Champ said he's "looking forward to a wonderful retirement," his new chancellor post, working with youth in Washington, and spending more time on his farm in Maryland, he will still have a hand in journalism.

"It's not going to end, because I'm still going to write my column for CBCNews.ca," he said.

"Occasionally people will ask me something, and maybe I can give them an answer or two."