On March 2, the Breaking the Set Facebook page posted a photo of Abby and her three co-workers on the show. The image had the headline, ‘We just broke the set one last time. Thank you for all the support!’ On air, Martin concluded her final episode saying, “What to say after three amazing years. Hosting this show has been thee most invaluable, rewarding experience of my life.”

With a lump in her throat and a tear in her eye, Abby Martin briefly detailed what she loved about her time with the show, which coincidentally, is also why so many of us love her so much. “I came to DC as an activist and citizen-journalist with a little website called Media Roots,” she recalled during her farewell address, “And then I was given an international platform to, be myself, growing so much in the process as a person and a journalist.”

For those wondering what’s next for Abby Martin, she gave a hint in the final moments of her final episode of Breaking the Set. “There’s only so much that can be done confined to a studio and I’m excited to leap into the unknown and follow my heart,” she told viewers, “So stay tuned. Breaking the Set has been thee most hard-hitting show on television by far…But never in a million years could I have imagined the amazing support this kind of show would generate, proving just how many people are hungry out there for systemic change and raw truth.”

Goodbye, for now

In the final seconds of the final episode of her show Breaking the Set, the tears return and the lump in her throat confirms that Abby Martin is as emotionally attached to her millions of loving fans as they are to her. “It’s been an amazing, and a long, sometimes hard road,” Abby Martin concludes, “I’ve lost some along the way. But I’ve gained more than I ever thought I could. It’s been an incredible run that wouldn’t have been possible without your support. So, thank you. I told myself I wouldn’t cry, yet here I am. But all good things must come to an end.”

Like the talented artist she is with paint and a canvas, the host of Breaking the Set brought to life her own heartfelt feelings and passions, “The river at one moment is not the same as the river in the next. And it never will be. And that’s okay. Life is constant change and growth and we need to embrace that…We need to open our minds and our hearts, to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. We need to listen to each other, and shout from the rooftops, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!’”

Abby Martin – our journalistic hero

The final minute of Breaking the Set featured host Abby Martin doing what Abby Martin does best – speaking directly to the viewer with passion, emotion, honesty and wisdom. “Allow ourselves to laugh at how insane the world can be, and cry,” she said through tears of her own, “Call your parents and tell them you love them. Take the time to smile. Extend a hand. Paint, photograph and sing at the top of your lungs. And most importantly, love each other.”

Speaking to the activists in all of us, from all walks of the political spectrum, Abby Martin passed along the ember of freedom she’s valiantly guarded for the past three years:

“Remember that nations are invented, borders are invisible, prejudice is learned. We’re all human beings who bleed the same blood and shed the same tears. Every time a person suffers, from Detroit to Gaza, that’s our brother. That’s our sister. That’s our family…To truly appreciate the good, we first must free ourselves from the prisons of our own minds and the dogmas society ingrains in us. Our empathy needs to extend toward every corner of the Earth, to every living thing. I struggle with all of this on a daily basis as I’ve delved into the utter destruction wrought on this precious planet. But I also know that every issue I’ve ever covered is so much bigger than me and my tiny existence. I have only been a vessel for the truth. And now, you all need to be too. So, empower yourself. And please know you’re not alone. Because together, we’ll never, ever stop breaking the set!”

On behalf of this author and Whiteout Press, thank you Abby Martin. You truly are our journalistic hero. The Breaking the Set Facebook page has announced it will be closing down. But readers can stay in touch with Abby via her personal Facebook page. If and when our favorite television anchor hits the airwaves again, we’ll be sure to let everyone know. Until then, take Abby’s words to heart and follow her example, “empower yourself, and know you’re not alone.”