Today, BusinessWeek media columnist Jon Fine said his goodbyes before jetting off on a six-month sabbatical with his wife, Mediabistro.com founder Laurel Touby. Although he seemed excited about his adventures, Fine said he would miss his readers most of all:

“The biggest surprise to me about this whole taking-time-off thing is how hard it is to step away from the keyboard with the knowledge that it’s going to be a while before I come back and hang out here with you all again. Really. I can’t adequately convey how much I will miss your comments, your challenges, your wit, your exasperation with my lazier moments, and, more than anything, the attention that you’ve so kindly granted me. ‘Privilege’ is an overused word. But it’s also the only one that seems appropriate in this situation.”

Ron Grover and Tom Lowry will be updating Fine’s “Fine On Media” column while he is away. Lowry has already taken up the BusinessWeek sale beat, reporting yesterday that investment firm ZelnickMedia LLC and L. Gordon Crovitz, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal are in talks to make a play to buy the business mag.

It seems like every day there is news of another media reporter leaving the fray, so the loss of Fine will not go unnoticed. He may be missing out on some of the biggest stories in his career as he departs amid the BusinessWeek sale, but hopefully there will still be a magazine for him to come back to when he’s done globetrotting.

A Note Before I Dash Out The Door –BusinessWeek

Earlier: Mediabistro Founder Announces Sabbatical