Bob left Morning Edition in 2004 after he was replaced on the show. He became the co-host of All Things Considered with Susan Stamberg shortly after joining NPR in 1974. He became the inaugural host of Morning Edition when the show launched in 1979. Bob served as host until 2004 when he was replaced. After being replaced, he left for SiriusXM, which led to thousands of protests from loyal listeners upset that he had been sidelined.

A year after he left the show, NPR released a lengthy note from its public editor in which they explained the move in more detail.

"Bob was asked by management to leave the host's role to become a senior correspondent for Morning Edition. He decided that he preferred having his own program and left NPR to go to XM Satellite Radio, where he now resides," the public editor's note explained.

The note added that while the move hadn't been made to attract a younger audience, the listenership did grow by about 800,000 following his departure.

The note also added that change is a necessary part of managing journalism, even in public radio where that change can sometimes feel almost impossible.

"Still, change is inevitable, and management has an obligation to manage, even in a medium as resistant to change as public radio," the note explained. "I think that Morning Edition is sounding quite good. I think it needs to change even more so that it sounds and is in fact, more diverse — culturally, intellectually and politically."