video ABC News had an exclusive interview with Pres. Barack Obama, ahead of his first State of the Union speech Wednesday. It was a big interview for Diane Sawyer - but it was jarring and a little odd to see Pres. Obama greet her with a kiss. (more...)

Which reporter logged the most minutes of air time during from 2000-2009? The honor goes to Andrea Mitchell of NBC, according to the invaluable resource that is Andrew Tyndall's TyndallReport.com. Here's a full breakdown. (more...)

Diane Sawyer has been the anchor of ABC's World News for just over one week, and the first week ratings are in. It's obviously very early, but here's a breakdown of the good, the bad and what the future may hold. (more...)

Millions of Americans tuned in (and millions more around the world saw clips) as Diane Sawyer made her full-time debut behind the anchor desk Monday night for World News with Diane Sawyer and shared an exclusive sit-down interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They heard Sawyer level harsh accusations at Ahmadinejad about Iran's nuclear program, its treatment of its citizens as well as of three American hikers arrested after they crossed the border. They also heard Ahmadinejad refer to Sawyer as "respectable lady." But what most people don't know is that the voice they heard translating Ahmadinejad belonged to a stand-up comedian, New York City's Dan Ahdoot. (more...)

video I've said this before, but Diane Sawyer is smooth. Her voice is smooth. Her hair is smooth. Her segues are smooth. She's even smoother than a smoothie, because those often have seeds, and seeds would never dare sully the smoothness that is Diane Sawyer. (more...)

“...Brian Williams has spent much of his tenure at “NBC Nightly News” as a young Turk competing against two older, avuncular and laid-back newsmen, Mr. Gibson and Bob Schieffer of CBS, who filled in after Mr. Rather left his post ahead of schedule. With Ms. Sawyer’s arrival, the three network anchors are evenly matched in looks and take-charge personality.

Friday was now-former ABC World News anchor Charlie Gibson's last day as anchor, and his sign-off was pretty pitch-perfect, with just the right combination of journalistic gravitas ("Objectivity is not universally in favor in our business these days, but it is critically important. It is what we strive for each night") and clearly-felt sentiment (“It has been a privilege and an honor to be here working with reporters, producers and staff for whom I have unbounded respect"). Gibson, as per usual, kept it calm and steady, though hearing him talk about it being hard to leave and then realizing just how long he'd been with ABC ("the past third of a century," as he put it) gave it an extra dimension behind his newsman's poker face. It was a succinct but warm sign-off, as befits an occupant of a network anchor chair. (more...)

Tonight is Charlie Gibson's last broadcast as the anchor of ABC World News. Even though it's going quietly, it's the end of an era. When Peter Jennings revealed he was stepping down from the anchor chair, he was the last of the Big Three to do so — Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw had both left their posts the previous year, and Jennings signaled the end of their shared era but it was not yet apparent that the primacy of the evening news was an era that had passed. It was only in the bumpy succession that it became clear that keeping that half-hour of news relevant and essential viewing for millions of Americans — then and still the biggest combined audience for news around — was going to be a challenge. NBC had had a smooth transition from Brokaw to Brian Williams, and CBS had stablilized with Bob Schieffer after Dan Rather's abrupt departure.

At ABC, though, there was turmoil. After Jennings stepped down in April 2005, and then after his death in August of that year, there was no succession plan and ABC News president David Westin dragged his feet on making a decision, even though Gibson had been the reliable fill-in for Jennings. Finally, in December 2005, Westin decided to make Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff co-anchors of World News. But in January 2006 on a trip to Iraq, Woodruff was gravely injured, scuttling that plan. After some more turmoil and a very wobbly tenure for all concerned, including Gibson's on-air partner at GMA, Diane Sawyer, Gibson was officially made the anchor of ABC World News (then still "World News Tonight") and took over the chair.

Why must a discussion of Gibson's tenure always begin with that wobbly start? Because of what came after it: Stability. Charlie Gibson in that anchor chair was a steady, dependable rock — exactly what was needed at World News after such a rough ride, and really the only thing that could have kept things on an even keel in the 6:30 p.m. hour. (more...)

The rumblings about the soon-to-be vacant anchor seat at ABC's Good Morning America are now focused on one name as the lead candidate - George Stephanopoulos. While a spokesperson for ABC says no decision is close to being made, TV insiders say the This Week anchor has become the lead contender for the job. But there may be more to the story. (more...)

Remember when an anchor stepping down was a huge deal? Tom Brokaw. Dan Rather. Peter Jennings. These names were huge pillars of the news ecosystem, and their departures were big stories — as well as the fraught issue of who had the gravitas, the experience, the journalistic, anchorly heft to step into their enormous shoes. The last transition was just a few years ago, but oh how things have changed. Today, the news that Charlie Gibson is leaving ABC's World News after only a few years in the top spot is definitely news, but is shaking no foundations. It's also not at all surprising who is replacing him: Diane Sawyer. And why should it? Sawyer's got a track record a mile long. She's an accomplished journalists, well-known to ABC viewers over the year, a longtime partner of Gibson and equal to him in stature at the network, as well as in the upper echelons of that news ecosystem. Well, for one thing, Sawyer's a woman. (more...)