ABC’s Diane Sawyer: Chasing the Story, Redefining the Network Newscast

In her time at World News, Sawyer has traveled to Haiti, Afghanistan, China and now Japan. But of course all network anchors travel. Muir says what sets Sawyer apart is her hunger for escaping the trappings of the network news anchor and finding the story; turning the stale format of the evening news–that “newscast of record”–into something new, a kind of agenda-setting Must See TV. “I think that if people watched closely, they’d see that she has made pushing it forward an art form.”

When a mine disaster rocked West Virginia, Sawyer finished her duties on the anchor desk in New York, grabbed her go bag and, with Muir, set off to chase the story. They landed late at night and, Muir says, Sawyer never mentioned the idea of finding a hotel. “There wasn’t a question of where are we staying,” Muir told Mediaite. “It’s which end of the county do you want? She started on one end and I took the other and we met in the middle as the sun came up and we did Good Morning America.” No sleep, just the adrenaline of reporting. “Diane says ‘go for it,'” said Muir.

“What you have is a message of accountability and of leading the charge and trying to expose and illuminate stories and information for viewers in a way that is not typically done on the evening news,” said Banner, who notes that some of Sawyer’s decisions–like taking World News to China–and her ability to land high-profile interviews have created content that “catches fire on the internet,” giving the ABC newscast the kind of buzz evening news programs rarely get. “And that has to do with the amount of energy and passion that Diane shows every day for what she is doing and for being there to education and illuminate and connect to our audience.”

Muir describes Sawyer as a reporter with “boundless energy” who’s the first to arrive at work in the morning, and often sending emails about stories late into the night–a leader who’s eager to guide and to push her team to go after the harder, better story. “The history speaks for itself,” said Muir. “We’re learning from the first woman on 60 Minutes. There’s no question in anyone’s mind that she’s earned that chair.”

“And it fits like a glove.”

Watch Diane Sawyer’s story from Sendai, Japan here, from ABC News: