Humble to the end, retiring WPXI-TV news anchor Peggy Finnegan twice tried to make Channel 11’s farewell coverage about everyone else.

On Friday’s noon newscast, anchor Gordon Loesch tried to celebrate Finnegan but she turned it around and praised his work as an anchor and reporter over his 17 years at Channel 11.

“This is about you, not me!” Loesch said playfully.

At the end of the 6 p.m. newscast after gently mocking the giant “Celebrating Peggy Finnegan” banner on the monitor stretching behind her and longtime co-anchor David Johnson (“Could they make it any bigger?” Finnegan said), Finnegan turned the tables on Johnson in a pretaped segment.

We'll miss you WPXI Peggy Finnegan! We're celebrating the last day of her 30+ year career and we want you to share your favorite memories. Leave us a reply! https://t.co/RUI8PwPGXF pic.twitter.com/yt2F0MvsC3

— WPXI (@WPXI) December 18, 2020

“In a way, it’s very much about you,” Finnegan said to Johnson of their three-decade on-air partnership. “We somehow had that special chemistry, and I attribute that to you because you’re a good guy, you know that, David Johnson… There are people called ‘anchor monsters,’ and [David] is not. When you share a set with him, he is an ‘anchor gentleman.’”

“You know this isn’t about me?” Johnson said.

In that same segment that will air as part of a half-hour “Celebrating Peggy Finnegan” special tonight on the WPXI Now app (on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV), the WPXI mobile app and at WPXI.com, Johnson and Finnegan recalled her audition for the job.

Johnson said a CNN anchor was among those under consideration and that Nick Clooney, the former Cincinnati news anchor and father of actor George Clooney, was considered as a replacement for Johnson. (“Darn it, I could have known George Clooney,” Finnegan teased.)

“I knew when you came in there was something special about you,” Johnson said. “You were just 29, right? I knew and (the bosses) knew, otherwise you wouldn’t be here for 31 years.”

The streaming special included a look at the making of several promotional campaigns, including one that introduced Finnegan to the Pittsburgh TV market in 1990, big news stories during her tenure, her philanthropic work, competing on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” alongside Johnson and her personal life, from a battle with breast cancer to meeting her husband and raising four children.

During the 5 p.m. newscast, the station shared messages from assorted Pittsburgh personalities, including former WPXI anchor Darieth Chisholm, Steelers president Art Rooney II, former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and former Channel 11 meteorologist Dennis Bowman.

In November when Finnegan announced her plans to retire, she said it was entirely her call and that when she signed her most recent contract, which expires this month, she suspected it would be her last contract with the station.

“(Retiring is) not something that just came to me,” she said in November. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a long time.”

Finnegan and her husband have several children living near Boston and a summer home on Cape Cod, and she’s looking forward to the ability to travel more freely post-pandemic. Add in the impact of covid-19, and it helped her make what she still called a difficult decision to retire.

At the end of the 6 p.m. news, Johnson noted Dec. 18 was “Peggy Finnegan Day” in Pittsburgh by mayoral proclamation.

“Over the past 31 years you’ve been more than a co-anchor,” Johnson said, “you’ve been a dear friend and you always will be.”

Anchor Lisa Sylvester, who will take Finnegan’s anchor chair at 5 p.m., noted that Finnegan will return to the station for occasional special reports.

Finnegan closed her WPXI career by praising her Channel 11 colleagues — on the air and behind the scenes — and thanking viewers for their trust.

“I want you to know I leave you in really capable hands,” Finnegan said, again broadening the focus beyond herself. “I have so much respect for my co-workers here. … They are super talented, they are hard-working and committed to covering the struggles and the achievements, the joys and the sorrows of our lives here in Western Pennsylvania.”

“It’s hard to believe this is it,” Johnson said as the broadcast ended.

“One last time, I’m Peggy Finnegan,” the retiring anchor said. “Good night and thank you, Pittsburgh.”

You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow Rob on Twitter or Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.

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