NPR's David Schaper calls it quits

• He took the buyout; his last day was June 2.

What they're saying: "It's been an amazing run — a wonderful, rewarding, exhilarating and, at times, challenging 20-plus years," Schaper tells Axios.

• "I still sometimes can't believe my good fortune of working at NPR."

Details: Schaper is a familiar name and voice to NPR listeners, but he is even more well known in Chicago, where he spent most of his career reporting for stations including WBEZ and WBBM.

• "I covered the corruption trials and convictions of Governors Ryan and Blagojevich," Schaper says.
• "And there was the time I was interviewing some residents of Englewood when a car stopped in the middle of the street, a guy got out and opened fire on a van that was speeding away."

Context: Schaper is the second high-profile, experienced broadcast journalist to hang up his microphone this month. Longtime Fox 32 political reporter Mike Flannery is retiring after 50 years on the beat.

What's next: "It's a temporary retirement," Schaper says. "In a few months, I'm going to need a new gig."

Justin's thought bubble: David was running the newsroom at WBEZ when I started in 1994. Chicago has great young reporters, but it's always tough when we lose institutional knowledge.