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We Have to Tell You: NPR Voice is Signing Off

<p>Carl Kasell, a longtime NPR newscaster and voice of the comedy program "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!," will be leaving the show this spring.</p>
Image: Carl Kasell
WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 30: National Public Radio's Carl Kasell delivers one of his last newscasts during the Morning Edition program at NPR December 30, 2009 in Washington, DC. A newscaster with NPR for 30 years, Kasell will take up the duty of roving ambassador for the network and continue his work on the game show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

Wait wait ... you're going to want to hear this. Carl Kasell, a longtime NPR newscaster and the voice of the comedy program "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!," will be leaving the show this spring according to the network.

For 30 years, from 1979-2009, Kasell was a familiar voice to millions as a newsman on NPR's "Morning Edition." He was recruited in 1998 to be the straight man (Official Judge and Scorekeeper) to "Wait Wait" host Peter Sagal.

Image: Carl Kasell
National Public Radio's Carl Kasell during a newscast on "Morning Edition" in Washington, D.C., in 2009.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

"It was loads of fun and gave me a chance to meet and talk in person to the audiences that I felt I had known for so many years on the air,” Kasell said in an NPR press release. "I can honestly say I am the luckiest man around to be able to have worked at a job I love for so many years. It's truly been a joy for me."

In a reversal of a popular prize on the show, NPR is welcoming fans to leave voice mails for Kasell by calling 1-888-Wait-Wait (1-888-924-8924; select the second option).

— Kurt Schlosser