Plante was one of the first openly gay TV reporters in the country though he never talked about it on the air. His coverage of the AIDS epidemic in its early stages helped Channel 5 win a prestigious Peabody award and two national Emmys.

Plante’s announcement follows the announcement earlier this month that KTVU political editor Randy Shandobil plans to retire at the end of the year.

Plante’s KPIX bio notes that his experience includes reporting and anchoring at TV stations across the country: KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, KRIV-TV in Houston, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis and WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia. He also served as Assignment Editor at WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., and News Editor at WRC (NBC) Radio, in Washington D.C. Prior to his broadcasting career, Hank worked in print journalism in Washington, D.C. at the Sentinel Newspapers, where he was Managing Editor, and at The Washington Post, where he worked on the City Desk.