It’s obviously very early, but here’s a breakdown of the good, the bad and what the future may hold.

Sawyer’s broadcast was up slightly week-to-week in total viewers and down slightly in the A25-54 demographic. Compared to the rest of the line-up, the difference between the three broadcasts was about the same. The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams averaged 9,370,000 total viewers compared to 8,560,000 for ABC and 6,160,000 for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. In the demo, NBC led with 2,840,000, ABC was 2nd with 2,270,000 and CBS averaged 1,830,000. For Sawyer’s first broadcast, the show was up significantly in total viewers, averaging 8,970,000. Last week also marked the largest total viewer advantage by ABC over 3rd place CBS in 11 months.

(One note: all three broadcast show ratings are based on a Monday-Wednesday average.)

Compared to Charlie Gibson‘s final week at the helm of World News, all three broadcasts had almost the exact same ratings in both categories. But when looking at the week prior, when it was no one’s last or first, all three broadcasts were way up. And compared to the same week last year, NBC was up in 2009 while the other programs declined significantly in both categories.

Still, it’s hard to get a good gauge on how the ratings will eventually settle because of the time of the year. This was done purposely by ABC – they wanted a low-key launch, and they certainly got it. Like Good Morning America getting used to George Stephanopoulos on the couch, any improvement (or decline), will take months to see. We know that Sawyer’s presence didn’t cause the ratings to crater – but it didn’t exactly show an immediate increase either.

As we enter 2010, we’ll have a better idea about how Sawyer’s approach to the broadcast impacts Williams and Couric, if at all.

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Executive Producer Jon Banner says it was a “solid” start – and talked to Mediaite about ratings, how Sawyer is different from Charlie Gibson and more.

“I think that was a solid start for us,” Banner tells Mediaite today. “It played to a lot of Diane’s strengths, allowed her to show some of her desires of what she wants to do with the program and also showed her strengths in terms of interviewing…More generally her energy and enthusiasm showed quite nicely in the first program.”

Banner pointed to one way he sees a difference between the anchor he used to produce. “There are some changes in the energy of the broadcast, in the tone of the broadcast, which allowed Diane to show her desires of where to take the program,” he says, although he does not the similarities as well: “Both brought incredible intellect and the journalism standards established over their career are self-evident.”

According to the fast affiliates data, which is not official, the show was up a bit from its season-to-date average, with an 8 million total viewers average season-to-date and 8.41 last night. Banner says the ratings are important for the transition. “I think what would be positive is if we all make progress based on our previous ratings,” he says of his program and Good Morning America. “We all know in the morning and evening we have a lot of work to do. We’re working especially hard during a time when people are traditionally slowing down…This is a marathon, and we intend to last it out. None of us are in this business to be in second place.”

There are very evident changes to the program since Sawyer took over, explained in a post on the World Newser blog by Banner. Sawyer will be doing regular “The Conversation” segments that will provide a looser, more personal pre-show web segment several times a week. Says Banner:

I think one of things we’ve tried to do in this incarnation, more so than the previous, is to match the on-air and online mission. “The Conversation” is born out of that in several ways. It’s digging deep into a single subject and is much more conversational, which plays to her strength, and what the broadcast will do more of. It allows us to hopefully be much more interactive with our audience in the long run.

>>> NEXT PAGE: Banner responds to Stanley, and a look at “The Conversation”.

So I am not at all surprised that last night’s transition to new ABC World News-anchordom went so smoothly. It’s not like she hasn’t done it before, she has — all of it, actually. She’s done the hard-hitting interviews (hello, Mahmoud!) and the chatting with correspondents and the personal — but completely professional — nod at the end, with a compeltely appropriate smile, easily transitioned into her anchorly sign-off.

There were new graphics, of course, marking the (once) sea-change of the handoff from anchor to anchor — yes this is ABC World News with Diane Sawyer — but it was so less jarring than it has ever been. Perhaps because it seems like Diane has always been there (in some capacity, she almost has) and perhaps, as Twitter snobs may say, who takes that chair (or that chair) no longer matters (as much)…or perhaps it’s because Diane Sawyer is such a pro, and is so damn smooth. Whatever it was, last night’s transition went off, well, smoothly.

Here’s the video of her opening and closing, with a little chat with her GMA replacement George Stephanopoulos in between.

Also, there was something else important about Diane Sawyer’s taking over the anchor chair last night…let’s see, what was it again…oh yes, I remember:

Haaaaaaa. Hat tip: Danny Shea at HuffPo, in a front page for the ages.

It’s time for Stephanopoulos to “flex a few different muscles,” Sklar said, based on his week one performance. “It’s time to go online and surf the net!” That, or “they should all just go out for karaoke,” she suggested. As for Gibson, Sklar was “surprised to see Muppets in his farewell.”

See the full clip below:

Afterward came warm messages of farewell from a who’s who of characters including President Barack Obama plus all living former presidents; John McCain and Hillary Clinton; ABC family members Jimmy Kimmel and Mickey Mouse; Wynton Marsalis, Julie Andrews (!), Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin; Whoopi Golberg talking about how smooth a dancer Gibson is (see, I wasn’t that far off!); former GMA colleagues David Hartman, Joan Lunden and Spencer Christian; Astronaut & International Space Station Commander Jeff Williams beaming his message in from space (awesome); Jack Hanna, Mia Hamm, some Washington Redskins and novelist Pat Conroy; Katie Couric and Brian Williams; some shouty Muppets, and fellow “newsfrog” Kermit, who was the penultimate well-wisher before President Obama. Green is Gravitas!

The full tribute is below:

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. Then, steadily and surely, he started gaining on NBC.

The evening news glare had turned to Katie Couric taking over at CBS in September 2006, and that upheaval over there represented a chance for Gibson and his team to entrench and slowly gain. Which is exactly what they did, creeping up against then-leader NBC and giving Williams & Co. a real run for their money, tussling for first throughout 2007 and ending that year neck and neck. Though NBC eventually pulled back ahead, Gibson had surprised people: Slow and steady could, it seemed, win the race.

Gibson has shown that slow and steadiness throughout his tenure — and now that he’s going, we realize that that is what is going with him. Eric Deggans today called him “the last old-school TV anchorman,” and while I’m not quite sure that’s correct — whatever his extracurriculars, Brian Williams is still very rooted in that tradition, and I think Diane Sawyer is as well (and also let’s not forget that Brokaw started at the Today show, too) — Gibson is the last one who seems to have just been an anchorman. He didn’t blog. He rarely gave interviews. He didn’t do the late-show circuit. He wasn’t interested in doing anything extra, unless that ‘extra’ meant, say, moderating a primary debate.

Deggans seems to think that’s a good thing, rather unkindly calling Williams a “frustrated stand up comic and calling Couric a “fixture” in “tabloid news or the online world” which makes the first sound like her fault and the second sound like it’s just as tawdry. I have written in the past that I thought Gibson could have and should have engaged with his audience more, and in the hindsight looking back on this decade it’s hard to argue that limiting yourself to just one platform was a winning — or visionary — strategy. But to Gibson, his half-hour was the only half-hour that mattered, and spoke for itself. And, surely, steadily, reliably, he led it for these past three and a half years — a short tenure for an anchorman, but for the guy who held it all together when it was about to fall apart, it was long enough.

Yesterday on Office Hours, ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross reflected on Gibson and the World News he inherited and came to represent. “He was a reporter’s reporter – he knew what we went through to get our stories,” said Ross. “I tell you, I’ve been blessed since I came here from NBC 15 years ago to work first with Peter Jennings then Bob and Elizabeth, Charlie and now Diane – you think you work hard until you’re around these people. It’s just a reminder, the best people are the hardest workers.” Said Ross simply of Gibson’s departure: “We’re gonna miss him a lot.”

That seemed to be the theme tonight as his final episode drew to a close, and a video rolled with well-wishes from a whole host of characters from people who he’d interviewed, famous people who would miss him at 6:30, from his competitors Williams and Couric, from President Barack Obama, and, oddly, from a few muppets and Kermit The Frog in a nod to silliness that Gibson rarely allowed himself. And then the camera pulled back to show Gibson surrounded by his staffers applauding. Gibson beamed, turned to face them, clapped back to them, beamed some more, shuffled the papers on his desk, and looked down, acknowledging but not grandstanding, because the broadcast was over and that was how he did his job.

And then it was over, and there was a commercial for Diane Sawyer, leading ABC World News on Monday, because the news doesn’t wait and that’s how it goes. And it will probably be a seamless transition, and Sawyer will lead the broadcast into yet another new era, into the next century with its whole new set of rules.

But looking back, there’s no way she — or any of them — could have done it without Gibson, steady and calm at the center, an anchor in the true sense of the word.

Charlie Gibson leaves ABC News today as the last old school network TV anchorman [The Feed]
Charlie Gibson’s “World News” & ABC News Career Remembered [HuffPo]
Four Little Words That Can Return Charlie Gibson To Ratings Victory [ETP]

Soon-to-be departing ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson was there too, but he was the 2nd guest (priorities). Also, she poked fun at how little the Post pays (it’s no prostitution, that’s for sure).

Eliot Spitzer‘s famous-ish favorite prostitute Ashley Dupre’s new NYP dating column debuted yesterday, so The View appearance allowed her to talk about that as well as her past in general terms. “Why have you put yourself out there?” asked co-host Whoopi Goldberg.

“I had a life before all of this,” she said. “I was pursuing my music, I was taking vocal lessons, acting lessons, piano lessons, I was going to open a members only club in the Hamptons. Like, I had a life.”

Barbara Walters jumped in a minute later: “Now you are getting paid for advice. You would not have had this column were it not for your experience.”

“Well it’s the New York Post, I’m not really getting paid that much,” she said laughing. “So it’s definitely not for the money!” (I’m sure the Post loved that.)

Next up was Gibson, who joked, “Don’t get to the leftover Ashley Dupre questions, thank you very much.” First topic for the newsman to discuss – Tiger Woods.

Here’s part of the Dupre interview:

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The Washington Post reported the story as “BREAKING” – but it wasn’t a surprise. What it means is Stephanopoulos has to take the job.

Every reporter on the TV news beat has their sources for stories, and this lengthy GMA decision is no exception. We reported Stephanopoulos was the leading contender for the job on October 19, had more details on November 18 and still more earlier this week. There are likely a dozen or so people in this same situation. For months, ABC News has been especially tight-lipped about all movement even as some leaks have gotten out. But now we hear Stephanopoulos was offered the job in the middle of “intensive negotiations”? Something doesn’t add up.

There are a couple reasons why “sources familiar with the situation” would tell this to the Post: because ABC News wanted it out, because Stephanopoulos wanted it out or because both sides wanted it out – unless neither side does. Let’s set aside option four for now. The third reason, why both would want it, would only be because they want to crowd source the idea. Stephanopoulos’ jump from This Week to GMA may be a big step up in the eyes of many, including, apparently ABC News execs, but it does move him from a hard news role to one that is broader. By leaking this, they could see the reaction. But it’s not likely this is the reason.

It doesn’t help Stephanopoulos’ side to put this out there, because the only reason he would is if he, essentially, was going to turn down the offer. Having it on record that he was offered the job, and turned it down, allows him to stay in his role (in D.C., talking politics) while making clear he was not passed over for the big opportunity. Still, this doesn’t help in keeping the succession low-key.

Instead, we need to look at the one thing that is most important to GMA: beating the long-time morning news leader, NBC’s Today show. It is clear ABC believes Stephanopoulos gives them the best chance to do that, and they want him in Sawyer’s seat. To pull back now – to give the job to Chris Cuomo, potentially, who has always been a possible replacement, will now sound like a second choice and undermine the impact of the eventual announcement. The fact that the news is out there means Stephanopoulos is increasingly handcuffed into the role – a role that is certainly a step up in exposure and viewers (and salary), but is a departure from the hard news This Week.

We’ll know the answer in one week – and the way things are going, we’ll probably know it before that through another leak. But for Stephanopoulos to say no now would hurt him, hurt ABC News and, most importantly, turn this major series of anchor succession at ABC News from low-key to highly dramatic.

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Tonight Williams thanked his viewers for sticking with him through all that (and through the Charlie Gibson challenge, which was close at times!), and looked back on those five years and what they meant. He also said he looked forward to many more such anniversaries, though going forward he’ll be facing challenges by Diane Sawyer along with current rival Katie Couric…as well as all of their nemesis, the Internet.

Here is Williams’ anniversary thank you:

Here is NBC’s congratulatory video, showing him being all newsy n’ stuff:

…and here are some of the more important thank-yous: from loyal viewers. Those who have read the Daily Nightly and have taken the time to read down through the comments will discover possibly one of the nicest commenting communities on the Internet. Seriously. Lisa McNeil from Alpharetta Georgia is particularly famous for wishing Brian, Richard Engel, Lester Holt, and pretty much everyone who has worked at NBC ever a heartfelt “PEACE” after every broadcast, and a small roster of regular commenters are now buddies in every comments section on the DN…and now on Twitter, which I discovered to my delight a few weeks ago. I asked a few of them if they had any wishes for BriWi to mark his anniversary, and this is what I got (don’t worry, BriWi, it’s safe to read them):

Dear Brian,

Congrats on 5 years in the big chair! With all the opinions that are spouted on cable news and online, I appreciate your objectivity. I’m grateful that there’s still a place where I can get my news without some sort of spin. Your warmth and personality add to the many reasons I choose to watch Nightly News every evening. Wishing you continued success and many more years in the anchor chair.

Lori (AKA Lori ~ NKY from my Daily Nightly posts)

and…

Dear Brian,

Congratulations on five years in the anchor chair! I remember the passing of the torch well – such big shoes to fill – you must have been intimidated! It sounds like a cliché, but you have truly made “Nightly” your own. I watch every day – even record it, if I know I will not be home in time. My 70-year-old mother watches you, too. She thinks you’re suave – an adjective previously only reserved for the late, great Peter Jennings (whom you sort of resemble). We appreciate both the humanity you bring to your work (New Orleans, post Katrina; Iraq; Afghanistan) as well as the humor – whether on the broadcast, or on “The Daily Show,” or “SNL.” You’re our permanent 6:30 date. Cheers to you, and to many more anniversaries.

A loyal viewer and “Daily Nightly” devotee,

Laurel Noel Potyen, a.k.a. “lnp, 38, leonardtown, maryland, usa”

…and, with years ahead in the demo:

Dear Mr. Brian Williams,

I want you to know that you made me realize what I want to do when I “grow up”, and also that that very fact scares me to death – or more so, it makes me extremely nervous because I’m actually pretty shy.

I want to send my deepest congratulations and thanks for all of the amazing work you and your colleagues have put into NBC Nightly News these past five years. So much has happened in those years, including a visit to my own town that all of us wish had been in completely different circumstances. So many sad stories over the five years you’ve been invited into our living rooms across the country. But in those difficult times, you’ve always been there for us.

You’re my first inspiration into journalism, and with the close relationship you have with your viewers, I also feel like you’re my very first mentor.

On behalf of all of your wonderful viewers, thank you again for all that you do! Congratulations, and here’s to five (or ten?) more years!

With love from your young loyal viewer,
-Cary (or Cary Skelton 20, Roanoke, Virginia)”

…and finally, Lisa McNeil from Alpharetta, Georgia:

Dear Mr.Williams,

CONGRATULATIONS on FIVE YEARS WITH NBC Nightly News! I have been a loyal viewer of NBC Nightly News and my parents always watched NBC Nightly News. I think you have done a wonderful job anchoring for these five years and have watched you since you began anchoring. You are so deserving of all the awards and recognition and you have great people working with you. I have learned so much about you through your blog the “Daily Nightly” and you have made me laugh so much at your great dry humor. You have an AWESOME sense of humor! It has been wonderful!

You coverage of Karina,Iraq,Afghanistan and many other reports is just remarkable and your really bring the best to every story you cover. I look forward to you broadcast everynight! And I look forward to many,many more years of great broadcasts.

Thank You and My Deepest Congratulations to You!

As I always say at the end of all my comments,

Peace to You and to All!

Lisa McNeil
Alpharetta,Georgia

So there you have it! Five years of BriWi, including SNL, 30 Rock, and about a zillion TV appearances. Probably in five year’s time Bruce Springsteen will be opening for him. I hope he can sing.

Update: Here is another, longer video collection of highlights from Williams’ career. Includes Bono!

If George Stephanopoulos gets Diane Sawyer‘s GMA gig, Nightline anchor Terry Moran could be the odds-on favorite at This Week.

Since the announcement in early September that Gibson would be leaving World News and Diane Sawyer would take over, the implication was the transition would take place in early 2010. Now it appears the timetable has moved up.

The New York Times‘ Brian Stelter reports Gibson would step down on the 18th, while Sawyer would leave GMA December 11. The low-key nature of the hand-off leads Stelter to conclude, “The strategy could be called the anti-Katie — a reference to the breathless attention devoted to Katie Couric‘s move to the CBS Evening News chair in 2006.”

But if the favorite to take over for Sawyer, Stephanopoulos, is named her successor – and all signs continue to point to it being true – would Stephanopoulos make the switch on December 14? If so, he would have to give up the This Week job this month as well.

One name we’ve heard for the This Week job is Terry Moran, one of the three current Nightline anchors. It would make sense – he’s in house, has been with the network for more than a decade and has conducted several high profile interviews (including a few with candidate Obama). A top ABC insider tells Mediaite, “It is way premature to be thinking about succession at This Week. We’re focused on succession at GMA right now.”

But if Stephanopoulos is the replacement named next Friday, they go hand-in-hand. If not, another choice at GMA would be Chris Cuomo, currently an anchor with the show. It would be the easiest transition, but also the most splash-less. The question becomes who moves into Cuomo’s role, which could be someone from the weekend edition of GMA, like Bill Weir or Kate Snow.

But if Stephanopoulos is named to GMA, his This Week replacement becomes a big story. And if it is Moran, does Nightline add a third anchor (meaning another high profile replacement at ABC News) or do they stick with two anchors? There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but we’ll know the answer to some within the next two weeks.

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The 2009-2010 season will see a big change, as Diane Sawyer assumes the anchor chair from Charlie Gibson on ABC’s World News. But after 13 seasons on top – will ABC or CBS be able to catch NBC?

Here’s some of the press release:

“Nightly” had its best total viewer delivery and best total viewer advantage over “World News” since the 2005-06 season, and the best total viewer advantage over “Evening News” since the 1994-95 season. “Nightly” has now won 13 consecutive seasons in total viewers.

Versus the 2007-08 season, “Nightly” was the only newscast to show year-to-year growth. “Nightly” added +88,000 viewers this season, while “World News” dropped by -363,000 viewers and “Evening News” lost -103,000 viewers. Both ABC and CBS had their lowest-ever total viewer season deliveries since at least the start of the People Meters.

People meters started in September 1987, which means this was ABC and CBS’ lowest total viewer average in at least 22 years. With the trends the way they are, it’s likely the lowest in far longer than that.

Which serves to make NBC’s win that much more impressive. Despite the excitement of the 2008 election, which helped cable news but never had a huge impact on the broadcast networks, NBC grew year-to-year. And as viewers leave the network news in higher and higher numbers, for a variety of reasons, NBC has maintained a comfortable lead.

But now Sawyer will come in and shake it up. On the week of the announcement, ABC actually surpassed NBC, albeit for one week only, in the ratings. Will Sawyer’s presence help ABC cut into NBC’s lead, or open up a chance for Katie Couric to thrive. We’ll see in January.

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Variety TV blogger Brian Lowry doesn’t seem to think so. Lowry recalls that in 2008, Dana ran a Wall Street Journal story on Katie Couric’s immanent departure from CBS that turned out to be bogus. Like her story on Gibson, Dana’s Couric story was heavily based on anonymous industry sources.

Newsday blogger Verne Gay agrees, though Gay writes that according to his own industry sources, Gibson was angry because he wanted the news to come out after Labor Day, when it would have the most impact, and that Gibson believes that Sawyer was the source of the leak.

It’s always refreshing when one story goes against the grain. And while Lowry and Gay both take Dana to task for relying on anonymous sources, they both rely on anonymous industry sources of their own.

But the point transcends the specifics of Charlie Gibson: do you think that reporters nowadays rush stories onto the web, regardless of whether they’re true, just to make a splash?

Both Lowry and Gay have a lot more to say on the subject; it’s worth reading their full posts.

So what does her future competition think of the move? Mediaite has statements from CBS’ Katie Couric and NBC’s Brian Williams:

Couric got out in front, with a statement emailed to Mediaite from her publicist. With a fellow female anchor joining the ranks, Couric will likely be a focus of many of the Sawyer stories that come up over the course of the next few months:

Ever since my days as a desk assistant at ABC News, I’ve always admired Charlie’s work. He’s a talented reporter, a gifted communicator, and a wonderful person. I wish him all the best.

Diane is one of the hardest-working people I know and this new assignment is the latest achievement in an already accomplished and illustrious career. And as I did, I’m sure she’ll quickly find that she doesn’t miss that early morning alarm clock.

We also asked NBC for a statement from Williams – who is currently out in California covering the wildfires. This is what he said:

I would love to say that ABC’s loss is NBC’s gain, but then they went and appointed Diane Sawyer to replace Charlie Gibson. That doesn’t lessen the competition one bit.

Charlie is a pro, and he’s been the most able competition anyone could ask for. Diane is no different – a legendary name in our business for decades – and now we’ll have to work every bit as hard every day to put on the best newscast possible. This is more evidence that the competition has never been more robust among the three network evening newscasts, and it keeps us all sharp, aggressive and on our toes. Congratulations to Charlie, congratulations to Diane, and Katie and I will continue to work hard every day.

Very gracious, as expected. Let’s see what happens in February 2010 when they’re competing against each other during sweeps.

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Despite diminishing ratings from its heyday, the three evening news anchor spots are still prime real estate. And ABC is playing it up big online.

The news was first reported by TVNewser, but has been getting major play on another site – ABCNews.com.

ABC’s story about the news is currently the top story on the site:

ABC has also published the full emails from Gibson and ABC News President David Westin this morning. Here’s a part of Gibson’s:

It had been my intention to step down from my job at Good Morning America in 2007 but with Peter’s illness, Bob’s injuries, and Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the job at World News came open in May of 2006, and David asked me to step in as anchor. It was an honor to do so. The program is now operating at a very accelerated, but steady, cruising speed, and I think it is an opportune time for a transition – both for the broadcast and for me. Life is dynamic; it is not static.

I have told David I would like to continue in some capacity contributing occasionally to ABC News. He has been receptive to the idea – and we will be discussing what that role might be.

• Rachel Sklar on what appointing a woman to the seat means.

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.

A woman!

Remember when that was a big deal? Cast your mind back to 2006. Katie Couric had just been announced as the successor to Dan Rather (or, really, Bob Schieffer), and the entire media community was in a tizzy. What would she wear? Would her hairstyle change? Would we still get to see those famous legs? I’m serious; this was the subject of legitimate debate in legitimate news outlets. The coverage of Couric’s ascension to the top spot at CBS, at its core, was about how viewers would react to a pretty, perky woman delivering their nightly half-hour news round-up.

Over at ABC, Sawyer was not impervious to that trend. The spring of 2005 had seen a spate of Katie-vs-Diane stories over the GMA/Today Show ratings, and after Bob Woodruff‘s terrible accident in Iraq ended the pairing of he and Elizabeth Vargas leading the broadcast in early 2006, both Gibson and Sawyer quietly started maneuvering for the anchor position.

According to Howard Kurtz in Reality Show, his book chronicling the anchor wars, Sawyer and Gibson were in contact about the ascension possibilities, as partners on GMA for eight years prior, but there were definite backroom goings-on as well. There was more: Sawyer also felt the added weight of the Couric treatment, very much aware of how the media would treat them as competitors:

It would be like every movie that featured two women battling it out. Women made great copy, that was the way the popular culture worked… She did not want her evening news tenure to be viewed through that prism. If she went to Darfur, the stories would be all about how she was trying to demonstrate that she was more interested in the plight of refugees than Couric was. She would be cast in a catfight.

We all know what happened: Gibson took over the ABC anchor chair. Couric took over at CBS. Sawyer remained at GMA, ever valuable to the network. Come January, she’ll finally be making that switch from morning to evening, to one of the hallowed Big Three anchor chairs.

Why bring all this up now? Things seem so different now, don’t they? Katie Couric has been on the job for three years now, and when it comes to waving scalps, Sarah Palin‘s is a pretty decent one to have claimed. Gibson’s depature from the chair is news, certainly, but as previously mentioned it won’t rate the kind of wall-to-wall coverage of the Brokaw-Williams handover, so carefully brokered and so seamlessly managed back in December 2004. New media upstarts enjoy dancing on the grave of the nightly news almost as much as they do that of newspapers. 20+ million viewers though the Big Three claim each night, there’s no doubt that the timeslot is not the big dog it once was.

Things are different — but that’s why it’s worth noting. Katie Couric’s been leading the CBS Evening News for three years and it’s still on the air (albeit with diminished ratings share). Charlie Gibson, for all his XY-chromosome-ness, never did manage to permanently unseat Brian Williams from that top spot. And in truth, there could not be a more perfect replacement for Gibson at ABC than Diane Sawyer, whose reporting chops, professionalism, longevity and on-air authority make her the ideal for a seamless transition.

But — looking ahead, there will be stories about how it’s BriWi vs. The Girls, and real data there, too, about whether or not viewers are switching over. There will be catfight stories, especially if ABC and CBS start getting close in the ratings or double-dealing for big-time exclusives. There will be assessments of Sawyer’s wardrobe choices and hairstyle, comparisons with the choices Couric makes and has made (here’s a potential headline: Will Diane Sawyer Cut Her Hair? Katie Did!). Looking ahead is made somewhat easier by looking back, and the fact that those articles about Couric’s wardrobe may have been in 2006, but chatter about Hillary Clinton‘s pantsuits and Sarah Palin’s Naughty Monkey pumps are decidedly more recent.

Looking ahead, those will be the stories — but so, too, will be the story of how a longtime ABC stalwart with an award-winning career took over one of the most important posts, still, in news — and the whole thing didn’t fall apart. That’s the thing about progress. It just sort of happens.

Oh, “gotcha” media, you just don’t understand how things are done in the “real world.”

In her speech, Palin made a passing reference to the media: “I wish you’d hear more from the media of your state’s progress and how we tackle Outside interests – daily – special interests that would stymie our state.” (Note: not sure why “Outside” is in caps, but that’s how it appears in the transcript on her Web site.)

But that was just the beginning. In a July 4 letter to Alaskans that doubled as a reaction to two days worth of media coverage of her Friday announcement, Palin turned her hunting rifle on the journos. Here’s the entire editor-needing section:

The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the “politics of personal destruction”. How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country. And though it’s honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make.

Putting aside the idea she’s quitting because of a “higher calling,” how is the mainstream media responsible for the reaction to her speech? Palin had every right to be annoyed with David Letterman, and it’s true that some in the media have taken unabashed and bizarre glee in seeing her fail. But choosing to leave office on the Friday before July 4, in a hastily thrown-together news conference (with geese loudly interrupting), left the media more confused than celebratory.

Even one of Palin’s biggest defenders in the “gotcha” media, Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren, is miffed. In a blog post Sunday, she asks, “Does Gov Palin resigning set back women?” It’s a question, and she doesn’t draw a conclusion. But if Matt Lauer, or Charlie Gibson, or the gotcha-est of them all, Katie Couric, asked the same question, Palin’s supporters would be jumping in at even the slightest implication.

At the end of the day, the media embraces the “blame the media” storylines, because it allows them to talk about the thing they love the most — themselves. We’re curious what’s up, Gov. Palin, and nobody is interested in you going away. If you went away, who would the media have to kick around?

• Rachel Sklar thinks Palin owes the media an apology.

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