Newstalk’s editor in chief, Garrett Harte, has announced his resignation from the station.

Mr Harte has been with the Communicorp-owned broadcaster from its infancy as a Dublin-based outfit and through its expansion into the national market. He said he plans to pursue other interests.

“I am very proud to have contributed to the development of Newstalk from its launch in 2001 to its development into a significant and influential media outlet,” Mr Harte said in a statement issued on Friday.

Newstalk chief executive Tim Collins, who took up his role in January, has begun the process of identifying a replacement to take over from Mr Harte early next year.

Communicorp chairwoman Lucy Gaffney said the outgoing editor in chief had been "instrumental" in building Newstalk from a start-up venture to the station it is today.

Mr Harte, who recently oversaw the launch of a major programming overhaul on Newstalk, will stay with the station until early 2017 and assist with the transition to a new editor in chief, he said.

From Co Donegal, he began his career at UTV and TV3, before joining Newstalk as station editor. He was promoted to editor in chief in 2015.