Veteran news anchor Leslie Griffith resigned from KTVU today after 20 years at the station and eight years as co-anchor of the “10 O’Clock News.” She has been off the air since Aug. 22 in what the station called a leave of absence. Every night, co-anchor Dennis Richmond would say at the top of the news that Griffith was off that night. During the leave, negotiations took place a departure settlement since three years remained on her contract. KTVU announced her resignation this afternoon after a story saying she had resigned first appeared on the blog of Contra Costa Times TV writer Chuck Barney this morning.

“I’ve had some unbelievable times at KTVU and the Bay Area has watched me grow up from a girl with pig-tails down to her waist to a woman who was able to travel and report on stories all over the world,” Griffith said, when reached at her second home in Steamboat Springs, Colo., today by Barney. “I never imagined I’d do as much and see as much. But I felt like I needed a change in my life. It’s time to move on.”

Ironically, Griffith replaced Elaine Corral, who also resigned under mysterious circumstances in 1998.

Over the past year, Griffith, 49, had privately expressed dissatisfaction with KTVU’s management and the direction of the news department. Barney said she was also upset that the station’s management did little to support her after she was slammed in an anonymous column called “The Grump” in the Oakland Tribune.

History [PPC, Oct. 25: Reasons given for Griffith’s exit from Ch. 2] [PPC, Oct. 8: What happened to KTVU’s Leslie Griffith] [PPC, May 6: Pam Moore, Leslie Griffith sound off about TV news]

Coverage [Charlie McCollum’s column in the Mercury News] [Chuck Barney’s column in the Coco Times (now MediaNews Group)]