Diane Sawyer wins the anchor seat
How will Sawyer do when she takes over ABC’s World News from Charlie Gibson?
“Good for Diane Sawyer,” said Michelle Cottle in The New Republic. The co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America will take over the ABC World News Tonight anchor chair from Charlie Gibson when Gibson retires in January. But kudos to CBS News anchor Katie Couric, too, for “blazing this trail and taking all the abuse that the first solo female anchor was destined to take.” Sawyer won’t get near the same level of “scrutiny—or abuse.”
That’s true, but not just because Couric’s already bloodied her hand punching through the “glass ceiling,” said Joshua Alston in Newsweek. Sawyer will be able to learn from Couric’s mistakes, but she’s also a much more “seasoned newswoman,” with a “gravitas”—and a “grave voice”—that Couric lacks. “Couric cut her teeth at Today”; Sawyer got her start working in Nixon’s press shop.
Diane Sawyer’s not thinking about Katie Couric, said Jon Friedman in MarketWatch. She’s “taking dead aim at toppling nightly news leader Brian Williams of NBC.” There’s still “ample prestige” in winning the nightly news ratings war, and ABC is betting that Sawyer’s “experience and charm” can finally knock NBC out of the top slot.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There may be prestige in the nightly news, but morning shows are the “cash cows for the news divisions,” said Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times. They’re also where TV journalists can have the most impact—today’s “news is fresh in the morning and stale in the evening.” There’s no doubt that Sawyer has earned the anchor chair, but she should have kept her “day job.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why ghost guns are so easy to make — and so dangerous
The Explainer Untraceable, DIY firearms are a growing public health and safety hazard
By David Faris Published
-
The Week contest: Swift stimulus
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'It's hard to resist a sweet deal on a good car'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published