NEWSCASTER JACK PERKINS TO RETIRE, MOVE TO MAINE

After 25 years as a TV correspondent, anchorman and commentator, Jack Perkins of KNBC Channel 4 said Friday he plans to retire from broadcast journalism next month to move to a small island off the coast of Maine.

Perkins, 52, a commentator on KNBC’s 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts, will leave the station June 30, a station spokeswoman said.

Perkins joined KNBC as an anchorman in 1982 after 21 years with NBC, most of it as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. He reported for “NBC Nightly News,” the “Today” show and two prime-time magazine series, “NBC Magazine” and “Prime-Time Saturday.”

In a statement released by the station, Perkins said his career “has been a delicious romp.” But now he wants to spend time with his wife, Mary Jo, on the property they own on Bar Island, Me., he said.

Perkins said that he will continue to do what he always has liked best about his work: write.

“Putting the mug on camera gets you recognized by strangers, and that’s not unpleasant, but the abiding gratification derives from the writing,” he said. “I’m not retiring from that. The little computer will work on the island. I may write in different forms, but I will write.”

A KNBC spokeswoman said Perkins won’t have to go through the hassle of putting his home up for sale to make the move: It’s already been sold--to KNBC’s new anchorman, Keith Morrison.