Mark Little knew what he wanted to do from age 11, apparently, and that was to either be a centre-forward for Liverpool or a war correspondent. Rafa Benítez hasn't called yet. When the golden boy of Irish news broadcasting announced that he was to take a break from the day (and night) job of Prime Time for a rather vague-sounding project "combining digital media and global journalism" as RTE put it, most people in and outside of the media were pretty shocked. Leave Prime Time? In a recession? For some internet thing? But Little has never shied away from a challenge, and those who know him say his endeavours outside of the programme are where his interests really lie.

Little has slowly transformed himself into a one-man news machine online. As well as twittering about what's coming up on Prime Time, his Twitter account constantly whirrs out links to news articles from outlets all over the world, with little attention to Irish news. A typical tweet from Little reads: "The Chinese are now buying more cars than the Americans... but is China's consumer boom sustainable" followed by a link to a New York Times article. While this attention to social networks may be overlooked in RTE, it certainly isn't within the Irish online community of bloggers, twitterers and techies. Indeed, Little was invited to speak at Dublin's Darklight festival (a film festival with a focus on new media) at the Geek Lounge, where he expertly laid out the evolution of new media, social media and how it relates to traditional broadcast media.

That said, it's one thing to have an interest in the future of journalism in an online context, and another to effectively jump ship from what is probably the most high-profile broadcast journalism post in the country and join in on an experiment for which there is no template, and certainly no definite results or answers. This leave of absence will probably be Little's most challenging project yet, as he plans to merge two of his loves – global journalism and a newer affair with digital media to create an online news platform.

Little studied economics and social studies at Trinity College for five years, serving as the student union president for one of those years. In his early 20s he had a daughter with the then president of the USI Maxine Brady. He went on to DCU to study for an MA in journalism.

He was in a talented class, sharing lectures with the Sunday Tribune's political editor Shane Coleman, Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Paul Cullen, deputy editor of the Star, Danny Smyth, Emmet Malone, the soccer correspondent with the Irish Times, and Helen Meany, arts journalist and editor of Irish Theatre magazine, amongst others. But to his fellow students, Little was always the guy who was going to go far. He had a grasp on the craft of journalism most couldn't match, and when a job with the Sunday Business Post came up, he abandoned his thesis (something he says he regrets) and dived headfirst into his career.

He was highly regarded at the Sunday Business Post, and it was there that he picked up a motto for life: "I was sitting in front of a keyboard as a trainee reporter back in 1992, preparing to write my first front-page newspaper article and one of the editors walked up behind and said: 'Make it sing'."

Making it sing was something he strived to do from then on. In 1991, he answered an advertisement for reporters in the RTE newsroom. He got the gig, and just four years later became the station's Washington correspondent. Stateside, Little fell in love with American politics, which remains a passion today. He stayed in the post for six years, winning Journalist of the Year in his final year in 2001 for his reports from Afghanistan.

Returning to Montrose, he had a brief stint as RTE's foreign affairs correspondent and then joined Prime Time. Little's colleagues, current and former, describe him as driven, ambitious, dedicated, convivial, smart, and a huge believer in the power and value of journalism. He's well liked in RTE, easy to work with, and often takes a collaborative approach with his team, something other high-up journalists tend to avoid.

Little isn't an Irish politics junkie in the model of Sean O'Rourke – "he wouldn't be interested in where Fianna Fail's transfers went in the 1973 general election, let's say," one former colleague says. His first love is global affairs. But at a time when budgets are being slashed, Little probably recognises that there will be fewer opportunities for him to pursue that love and travel abroad. Instead, he is taking a risk in exploring digital media, albeit with the safety net of RTE – the station would be unlikely to let one of its top journalists go to a rival broadcaster.

Outside of the newsroom, Little is described as being great fun and genuinely nice with a sharp sense of humour. He takes his job seriously, but not himself, it has been suggested. A music lover, he lists his iPod as his most treasured possession and would like The Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' played at his funeral. He has two young children – a boy and a girl – with his wife Tara Peterman, an American woman and former producer at Sky News, and currently an executive producer at RTE.

Constantly busy with extracurricular work, Little has clocked up an impressive hat trick of books – Turn Left At Greenland: In Search Of The New America, Zulu Time and his latest The New America.

In 2006, he made the documentary Who's Afraid of Islam?, spending six months travelling the world in search of a complete picture of modern Islam.

"The rise of social media platforms like You Tube, Twitter and Facebook provides an opportunity for journalists to change the way we report the world. I would like to take a more direct role in that transformation. Unfortunately, that means taking a break from my work with Miriam and the Prime Time team who have been like a family to me.

"In particular, I would like to mention Miriam, who has been a great personal friend to me and someone who has taught me an amazing amount about broadcasting. Whilst I will be leaving in the new year, I look forward to maintaining a long-term relationship with RTÉ," he said, announcing his departure from the station.

As always, Little is ahead of the pack on this one. While Irish journalism is something of a backwater in terms of online media, both in content and understanding, if anyone is going to bring it out of the shadows, it's Mark Little.

Curriculum Vitae

Born: 1968
Occupation: Journalist and presenter of RTE's Prime Time
Personal life: Married ; three children
In the news: About to leave the flagship current affairs programme to embark on a new online news project