12/29/2023 0 Comments Abc news anchor![]() Goldston’s boss Peter Rice, Disney’s chairman of general entertainment content, was involved in the delicate maneuverings. Such messes sometimes flow uphill instead of downhill. Now Goldston had a talent mess on his hands, and “Disney doesn’t like messes,” in the words of one longtime executive. Some inside ABC News believed he was weakened by the July 2020 ouster of his longtime deputy Barbara Fedida, the powerful head of talent and business at the news division.įedida departed after an investigation confirmed a news report that she made what Disney called “unacceptable racially insensitive comments.” (Fedida called the allegations “heartbreaking and incredibly misleading.”) When Stephanopoulos learned that Muir would be “chief anchor” in spirit, though not in title, he felt deceived by ABC News president James Goldston, three sources said.Īt the time, Goldston had yet to announce that he was stepping down from the news division. George Stephanopoulos LORENZO BEVILAQUA/ABCĪBC management “asked for his patience” - in other words, asked him to respect that Stephanopoulos would continue leading big event coverage through the 2020 election - “and he’s done just that,” a network source said.Īlong the way Stephanopoulos agreed to give up the “chief anchor” title but, according to sources, was under the impression that no one else would have that exact role. With Muir in the evening chair, “World News Tonight” gained viewers and surpassed “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.”Īnd Stephanopoulos won accolades for anchoring elections, inaugurations, and a pair of impeachments.īut ABC management eventually decided that Muir should be tasked with special reports.ĭepending on who’s telling the story, either “David hated being sidelined until 6:30,” as one source put it, and pushed for the added role during a contract negotiation or, in the words of another person close to him, “ABC asked him to step up.”Įither way, it happened about two years ago, when Muir quietly signed a long-term contract. ![]() Over a period of years, ABC executives maneuvered to raise Muir’s profile, while keeping Stephanopoulos as “chief anchor,” occasionally causing friction. ![]() “This was always going to blow up at some point,” one of the sources said. But the TV news industry is never lacking in egos and rivalries, and ABC clearly valued both men. Inside ABC News, tensions between Muir and Stephanopoulos were an open secret, with each camp blaming the other. That’s how the “chief anchor” title was born. instead.īut Sawyer’s special report responsibilities were handed off to Stephanopoulos, the more seasoned and politically knowledgeable anchor, who famously worked in Bill Clinton’s White House before joining ABC. Muir was promoted to replace Sawyer at 6:30 p.m. As Bill Carter wrote for The New York Times in 2014, “Stephanopoulos is now too important a part of ABC’s top-rated morning program, ‘Good Morning America’ - by far the biggest profit center for the news division - to be moved to the evenings.” Stephanopoulos was anchoring “GMA” and was, according to some sources, coveting the “World News” chair.īut power was shifting from the evenings to the mornings. The title was invented in 2014, and that’s really where this story begins.ĭiane Sawyer was stepping down from “World News,” the network’s flagship evening broadcast, historically the top job at ABC News. Now, no one at ABC News will have the title of “chief anchor.” Sources said that he will create new shows for Disney-owned platforms like Hulu and National Geographic. Stephanopoulos, the co-anchor of “GMA” on weekdays and “This Week” on Sundays, will be adding a production company and prime time specials to his portfolio. Now Muir will have that responsibility on top of his “World News Tonight” anchor role. Those special reports have been helmed by Stephanopoulos for the better part of a decade. More than half a dozen sources spoke to CNN Business on condition of anonymity.Īt issue was a title, “chief anchor,” and a key network news responsibility: leading special coverage of breaking news stories and special events. Spokespeople for ABC News, a unit of Disney, declined to comment for this story. David Muir anchoring World News Tonight on ABC News Heidi Gutman/ABC
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