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TVNewser has learned ABC News will announce today that Charlie Gibson will leave "World News" in January and that Diane Sawyer will be named the new anchor of the network's evening newscast. Gibson has been the anchor of "World News" since May 2006, after the pairing of Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff was broken up when Woodruff was seriously wounded in an IED attack in Iraq. Woodruff and Vargas were named co-anchors of the program in Dec. 2005 after the death of longtime anchor Peter Jennings. DEVELOPING > More: ABC News tells us Gibson is announcing his retirement from ABC...

How brave of Kate Snow. Not only making the trek to Flyover Country North, but even getting close to some yucky fish. That seemed to be Diane Sawyer's attitude in congratulating Snow for snagging an interview with Sarah Palin. The soon-to-be-former Governor of Alaska invited Snow out for some salmon fishing. At one point the intrepid ABC reporter observes to Palin: "you have some fish guts on you." Back in the studio, Sawyer saluted Snow's guts. View video here.

Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer popped up on Sunday's Reliable Sources and swore that ABC's much-scrutinized health care special with President Obama "won't be an infomercial." She also seriously touted the objectivity of the network, cheering, "I know that our network has worked very, very hard to be completely-completely responsible and fair and serious about big issues."

Another pseudo-brilliant idea floating around these days is the concept of a gas tax, and Thomas flat-earth Friedman is just the guy to spread it. And Diane Sawyer is just the person to lap it up. Right-wingers can't be expected to be this brilliant, and people like Sawyer and Friedman have to explain it to us... But sometimes even left wingers resist the idea of a gas tax, as is evidenced by Sawyer's conversation with Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Sawyer asked six different times in various ways whether the administration will implement a...

Has ABC established a new journalistic standard: henceforth, is it OK to cite anonymous internet posts to demonstrate public opinion on an issue? During its segment on the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller, ABC News reporter cited two inflammatory–and anonymous–Tweets. Later, at the conclusion of her interview of two associates of the late Dr. Tiller, Diane Sawyer seemed to choke up. ABC News reporter Jeffrey Kofman was on the scene in Wichita, Kansas. View video here.

Imagine you’re a network news anchor interviewing Janet Napolitano today. What would be the #1 issue you’d want to ask her about? Of course it would be the report Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security recently put out suggesting that “right-wing” groups pose a potential terrorist threat, and singling out returning military veterans as posing a particular danger. But you’re not Diane Sawyer [well, unless you are Diane, in which case I'd love to hear from you on this]. In the course of her extensive interview of Napolitano aired on Good Morning America today, Sawyer never found time to raise a...

How do you hit the broad side of a barn in a news report when you can't see the core issues? How did we know the report would be misleading and terribly lacking? As you know, I write for non-gun owners. I furnish analysis and facts more on the issue of liberty and citizen authority than guns themselves. Guns, liberty, and our sovereign authority over officials in this country are inextricable, and I have shown why over the years. The armed citizen is not an opinion concept, it is and always has been a safeguard of our way of life....

ABC Morning host Diane Sawyer, must have been trying for a good grade in a Creative writing class. Today on her poorly rated early morning show she weighed in on the Rush Limbaugh "I hope he fails" controversy with creative editing . While interviewing Senator John McCain she "cut together" two different statements to make Rush Limbaugh look racist: SAWYER: Another big issue in the news and out there on the internet, of course, is Rush Limbaugh who basically says that Republicans have got to take sides and here was the question that he posed. Here is the challenge he...

When Diane Sawyer went to the zoo as a kid, did she used to take a stick and poke the old lion between the bars? I ask because the GMA co-anchor did the political equivalent this morning, repeatedly trying to provoke John McCain into taking a rhetorical swing at Rush Limbaugh. It was Sawyer’s first interview of McCain since the election. One attempt to get McCain to criticize Rush over his much-misinterpreted “I want Pres. Obama to fail” line? OK. Two attempts? Pushing it. Three tries? This ceases to be journalism and enters into Jerry Springer territory of trying to...

And he’s hard-working, too, unlike that previous guy! Sharing with America President Obama’s daily schedule, Diane Sawyer managed to work in a little shot at President Bush’s early-to-bed habits. [H/t FReeper library user] DIANE SAWYER: For the first time, we have details this morning on the new night-owl presidency. We have the president’s schedule: compare it to yours. He hits the gym at 6:45 AM, does weights and cardio. He reads several paper, eats breakfast with the family, sees his daughter off to school, both daughters off to school. Then makes the 30-second commute to work, landing him in the...

One of Oprah’s most famous moves was giving away a car to every member of the studio audience. With the Obama administration planning to dole out several thousand dollars in largesse for every American family, why not Winfrey for senator from Illinois? Whatever his motivation, Rod Blagojevich let it be known on GMA today that he had indeed considered Oprah for appointment to Barack Obama’s open Senate seat. Diane Sawyer interviewed the Illinois governor, and to her credit held his feet fairly firmly to the fire. In contrast with Amy Robach’s relatively soft treatment in her NBC interview, Sawyer repeatedly...

Body Copy Reads: Diane Sawyer Still Obviously Intoxicated The Inaugural Balls went on all night and it looks like Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer enjoyed the open bars. Thanks, ABC, for not pulling her off the air despite all this slurred nonsense. Thanks to hero intern Bette Bentley for compiling this wonderful video of America's Drunkest Former Nixon Staffer Journalist mumbling things about children and boots. CORRECTION, JESUS: Diane Sawyer did not attend a single ball! She was up all night reporting. So they just had her on GMA after a full 24 hours of being on television despite the...

If Britney Spears wants to launch her grand return with a trite and tacky rough-sex pantomine, I suppose that's her business. She's not known as a pop tart for nothing. What I do find noteworthy is the way GMA celebrated that bit of rough stuff, featuring it in its opening minutes. Even there, it's not ABC's descent into schlock that jumps out so much as the double standard. Can you imagine the dutifully feminist ABC applauding such junk if the gender tables had been turned? Me neither. Diane Sawyer, uh, teased things during the show opening. View video here.

In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Ashley Dupre insists on ABC News' "20/20" that she's not a prostitute, saying that being an escort involves much more than just sex.

Leave it to an Ohio plumber named Joe Wertzelbacher to make the case on taxes on small businesses clearer, more succinctly, and better than John McCain has: ABC's "Good Morning America" October 16, 2008 ABC's Diane Sawyer: "Well I just want to ask you now about the issue that was raised because it's been a little confusing to me as I tried to sort it out here. To get straight here, you're not taking home $250,000 now, am I right?" Joe Wurzelbacher: "No. No. Not even close." Sawyer: "And you were you asking — about the prospect, the hope that...

<p>I just watched him get interviewed and Diane tried to do what she tries to do (talk down to you so sweetly). But Joe was not having it, he politely articulated that Obama wants to spread the wealth, which is socialism. Good Job Joe!</p>

Hillary Clinton won among white voters in West Virginia by a 67-26% margin. Pretty lopsided. Then again, that's nearly an even split compared to the 90+ percent of black votes Barack Obama's been racking up in state after state. So who does Diane Sawyer suggest should reject race-based votes? Senator 90+? Nope. James Carville was Sawyer's guest during the GMA's opening half-hour today. DIANE SAWYER: I want to talk about the fact that 20% of the voters coming out of the West Virginia race said race was in fact a factor in their vote, and of those Senator Clinton won...

What kind of night is one on which Hillary Clinton, in the eyes of many, lost her shot at the nomination? "A great night"—according to Diane Sawyer. Sawyer made her remark at the opening of today's GMA. She started with some shtick with co-anchor Robin Roberts, displaying a series of cards explaining she was losing her voice, then managed to get out these words: DIANE SAWYER: It was a great night last night. What a night, huh? Any ambiguity as to what made last night "great" was resolved when the duo immediately moved to a discussion of last night's primary...

Someone get Diane Sawyer a crash course in indirect fire. Discussing this morning the recent flurry of rocket and mortar attacks landing inside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Sawyer supposed that the insurgents had somehow breached the perimeter themselves and fired from inside the US embassy compound! Sawyer spoke with Jonathan Karl during the opening minutes of today’s Good Morning America. DIANE SAWYER: But let’s begin with this breaking news from Iraq, reports that mortars have landed inside the US Embassy compound in Baghdad. ABC national security correspondent Jonathan Karl has been working this story. Jonathan, good morning to you....

While covering the breaking story on Tuesday of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's decision to step down from power, various "Good Morning America" anchors and reporters soft peddled the communist leader's crimes. In a profile piece that narrated a brief history of his life, co-host Diane sawyer enthused, "Castro knew life is a stage and played the part of the dashing revolutionary coming to New York, getting rock star treatment." Now, she did add that many people overlooked the "ferocity of his communism, even as he bankrupted his country and history passed him by." But over the course of five segments,...

I'm not talking about endorsing Hillary. I'm talking about raising money for her because apparently the Republican strategery is relying on fear and loathing of Hillary to unite everybody. -- Rush Limbaugh, Feb. 7, 2008 There's nothing the MSM loves more than Republican in-fighting. And of late, conservatives have concededly given the liberal media plenty to gloat about in that regard. Well-founded concerns about John McCain's unconservative positions on a host of issues have famously led to much heartburn in conservative circles. And yes, Rush Limbaugh has been leading the charge in raising the red flag about McCain. But that...

ABC Honors Bill Clinton with Interview on 'His Work to Save a Continent' By Tim Graham | July 20, 2007 - 12:19 ETABC’s Good Morning America interviewed Bill Clinton on Thursday morning, and while he made the news for saying Iraq is hopeless ("There is no military victory here"), the interview was also notable as another opportunity for ABC to honor Clinton as a global statesman and ask him softball questions for almost nine minutes. Co-host Diane Sawyer reported he was in Africa to see Nelson Mandela and do his AIDS work: "And President Bill Clinton weighs in, speaking...

ABC Devotes 64 Minutes to Dem White House Contenders; Zero For GOP Posted by Scott Whitlock on July 16, 2007 - 13:57. On Monday’s "Good Morning America," ABC devoted 38 minutes of air time to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards in a town hall special. This is in addition to the over 26 minutes they provided fellow ‘08 contender Hillary Clinton back in March. That’s a grand total of 64 minutes of publicity for Democratic candidates and zero for Republicans. Now, to be fair to "Good Morning America," GMA host Diane Sawyer did ask tougher, harsher questions than her colleague...

Thursday’s edition of "Good Morning America" featured a Diane Sawyer anecdote that unintentionally revealed the low opinion Americans have of journalists. After wrapping up a July 12 segment on a Massachusetts man who is in trouble for attempting to avoid jury duty, the ABC co-host recounted the "hurtful" experience she had in a courtroom:Video (0:55): Real (1.51) or Windows (1.71 MB), plus MP3 Audio (607kB)  7:34am[Wrap up of segment on getting out of jury duty.]Diane Sawyer: "You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, 'Can,...

Media: Hearing what passes for market analysis these days, we don't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh, because so many are scared into keeping their powder dry, or cry because they're missing out on so much. We don't know how else to put it: The media are not only biased in how they cover the stock market and economy, they're oblivious to the relationship between the two. This occurred to us the other day as we listened to a midmorning business report on network radio. Much of it focused on a rise in mortgage foreclosures, and this, of course,...

Sure, it's a basic Judeo-Christian tenet that we will be accountable to God for our actions on earth. But if a reverend from the religious left had died yesterday, do you think Diane Sawyer, immediately after reviewing controversial statements he had made in the course of his career, would conclude by archly observing that the reverend has "gone to answer to his Maker"? Neither do I. But that is just what the Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer did today on the occasion of the death of Jerry Falwell. After a brief biographical review, Sawyer stated "as the years...

On Thursday’s "Good Morning America," the ABC program touted a liberal New Yorker who is so concerned about the environment that he refuses to use toilet paper. GMA devoted eight and a half minutes of the May 10 show to promoting the cause of Colin Beaven, a man who, in addition to his bathroom stance, refuses to buy anything in packaging, won’t use transportation, even elevators, and insists that all his food be grown within 250 miles. According to liberal weatherman Sam Champion, who admiringly recounted Mr. Beaven’s story, "The rules may seem a little extreme." A little? Co-anchor Diane...

With gasoline prices going up, Diane Sawyer worries they will continue to rise. With stock prices going up, the same Sawyer worries they will experience a crash of historic proportions. Sawyer's guest on Good Morning America today at 7:15 AM EDT was Mellody Hobson, a GMA financial contributor. Here's how Sawyer kicked things off. GMA CO-HOST DIANE SAWYER: Will runaway gas prices keep soaring, and did you know that the stock market has hit a milestone reminiscent of what happened before the big Crash? Let's start with gasoline prices. On Monday the average price of gasoline hit $3.05, just...

Touchy, touchy! Diane Sawyer is in the business of dishing out tough questions and challenging people's answers. But when a guest on today's "Good Morning America" politely corrected her on a First Amendment matter, the GMA host was quick to accuse him of "attacking" her. Los Angeles-based radio talk show host Larry Elder was Diane's guest, in to discuss the Imus matter. Sawyer introduced him as a "conservative radio host" though on his own site Elder describes himself as a "libertarian" and "a blend of fiscal conservative and social liberal." Of course we all know how many times the...

Back in the '70s, an exchange of ping pong players between the United States and China began a thawing of relations between the two countries that paved the way for Richard Nixon's famous trip to Beijing. Could we be entering a similar stage with Iran that could come to be known as "orange juice diplomacy"? Diane Sawyer certainly seems to hope so, judging by her questions to US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad on Good Morning America today. Along the way, Sawyer seemed to willfully downplay the degree of Iran's responsibility for the Shia insurgency in Iraq. Sawyer spoke...

File this one under "MSM condemns ee-vil corporations." As you'll note from the screencap, ABC's Good Morning America today branded State Farm Insurance "not a good neighbor." What is State Farm's sin? Its decision not to write new homeowners and commercial policies in the state of Mississippi. Did you note that? State Farm has decided not to write any new policies. This in no way affects the insurer's liability for existing policies. State Farm has made a simple business decision: given the legal environment there, Mississippi is not a good place for an insurer like it do to business....

GMA's Sawyer Allows Iranian President’s Wild Statements to Go Unchallenged Posted by Scott Whitlock on February 13, 2007 - 15:55. As already reported on NewsBusters, ABC’s Diane Sawyer continued her Dictator ‘07 Tour on Tuesday with a stop in Iran to interview President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Although the "Good Morning America" host did press the Iranian leader, it’s hard not ask some difficult questions to a man who repeatedly calls for the destruction of Israel. However, the questions were nowhere near as tough as in November 1998 when she interrogated special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. In that case, Sawyer told the Clinton investigator that...

First on TVNewser: Good Morning America co-anchor Diane Sawyer is in Iran, several sources tell TVNewser. She is expected to interview Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and appear on GMA from Tehran on Monday. One of the sources says it'll be a live interview. "This follows her interview last week with Syria's president," another tipster adds... > Update: 10pm: "Sawyer will be on GMA Sunday too, from Tehran, advancing her Monday interview. She'll give some details as to how the interview came to pass," a tipster says...

Should Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ever make it to America, he will feel right at home in the faculty lounges of America's universities and the executive suites of the MSM. For this morning, he gave the Iranian version of a slogan near and dear to the hearts of the aging campus activists of the 60s and 70s who are to be found there: Make Love Not War! In segments broadcast on today's Good Morning America, Diane Sawyer continued her interview of Ahmadinejad. Quizzed by Sawyer about his country's nuclear ambitions, he replied: "We believe that the time is now over for nuclear...

Diane Sawyer sat down to ask Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [MA] some tough questions today, and a weather report broke out. Having spent last week in Syria, Diane is now in Iran on the second leg of her All-Dictator Tour. She began her interview of MA, televised on this morning's GMA, by asking him "are you sending Iranian weapons into Iraq?" In lieu of an answer, MA went Sam Champion on Sawyer: "Let me first say good morning to our viewers all over the states and its good people, and let me tell them that we have spring weather here in Tehran,...

Imagine that during the days of apartheid in South Africa, Diane Sawyer had just completed an interview of the white leader of the regime. What are the odds she would have emerged to inform viewers, in sympathetic tones, that the leader had reminded her of an old Afrikaaner saying to the effect that change must come slowly? Yet that's just what Diane did after her interview with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in which he claimed Syria wasn't ready for democracy. The screencap you see here is of Diane giving a dramatic portrayal of Assad's words. Emoted Diane: "The president...

When a despot you're interviewing denigrates the value of democracy in another country, wouldn't your journalistic instincts prompt you to ask him about the utter lack of democracy in his own? Not in Diane Sawyer's case. The ABC powerhouse is in Syria this week, and scored an interview with its dictator, Bashar al-Assad. Joe Biden would surely declare Assad "articulate;" the tyrant does speak excellent English and has a mild-mannered, urbane demeanor. But, in his case, appearances are definitely deceiving. Assad is the ruthless ruler of one of the most oppressive regimes on earth. On a scale of 1-7,...

If only Joe Biden had seized the moment with one brilliant burst of brevity, he could have turned his his presidential candidacy announcement on this morning's GMA into a funny, feel-good moment that would have won him untold millions in free coverage. Sadly, the senator from Delaware couldn't resist his proclivity to pontificate. Diane Sawyer had the scoop: Joe Biden appeared on this morning's Good Morning America to make it official -- he's running for president. First came the obligatory questions about Iran and Iraq. Diane next tried lure Biden into expanding on his statement that Hillary's nostrums for...

If Hillary isn't quite getting out the long knives, let's just say she's oiling the scabbard. As we noted earlier, on this morning's "Today" Clinton drew an invidious comparison between herself and John Edwards, referring to him as "on the sidelines" while she's in "the arena." And after some persisent questioning by Diane Sawyer on today's Good Morning America, Hillary took a little swipe at her other major opponent, Barack Obama. Sawyer: "Yesterday, talking about Senator Barack Obama, when asked specifically if he is qualified to be commander-in-chief, to be president, you didn't answer, you said 'I'm going to...

Diane Sawyer didn't go totally Katie Couric on Nancy Pelosi in her exclusive interview aired on GMA this morning. The ABC host stopped just short of any "you go, girls." But neither did Sawyer call Pelosi when, twice, the new Speaker washed her hands of responsibility for the most pressing issue of the day. When Sawyer asked if the Dems would turn off funding for the surge, Pelosi responded: "Democrats will never cut off funding for our troops when they are in harm's way. But we will hold the president accountable; he has to answer for his war. He has...

At 9pm EST/PST (8pm CST/MST) on Friday night (Dec. 8), ABC will air a special edition of Primetime, “North Korea: Inside the Shadows” which will feature Diane Sawyer recounting what she found in that communist nation during a trip there back in October. If her hour-long program matches what aired in October, be prepared for a lot of North Korea officials bashing President Bush and for Sawyer to trumpet “happy” kids. On the October 19 World News, Sawyer proved little more than a conveyor belt for the repressive communist regime's propaganda. Talking to a North Korean Army General, she relayed...

ABC's Kate Snow is apparently no fan of Larry David's HBO original series. On this morning's GMA Snow showed herself utterly incapable of curbing her enthusiasm at the prospect of a presidential run by Hillary Rodham. In to discuss an indication that Hillary might soon be announcing her candidacy, Snow, literally wriggling with excitement, told Robin Roberts: "It’s the latest sign that maybe, just maybe, we might have a woman trying to run for president of this country.” Snow claimed that by the end of the week Hillary would be calling on all top New York Dems "not to tell...

*** Just outstanding guest appearance by Sean Hannity on Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer, our 'Great American'!!! *** Hannity: Michael J. Fox Can Be Criticized for Stem Cell Ad Radio Show Host Says Ad Won't Affect Midterm Elections' Outcome Video link -http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2604613 (opens ABC News video player) ABC Talk Radio host Sean Hannity spoke to Diane Sawyer about the recent controversey caused by Rush Limbaugh's comments about Michael J. Fox. Oct. 25, 2006 — Conservatives came to the defense of talk radio host Rush Limbaugh over his accusation that actor Michael J. Fox's appearance in a political ad about...

Sean Hannity on GMA Defends Limbaugh; Exposes Democrats' 'Selective Moral Outrage' Posted by Megan McCormack on October 25, 2006 - 11:34. In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer on Wednesday’s 'Good Morning America,' Sean Hannity defended fellow talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh has taken a lot of heat in the press for his criticism of Michael J. Fox’s campaign ads in favor of embryonic stem cell research and Democratic Senate candidates. Hannity fought the notion that Fox, who has injected himself through these ads into the political arena, is "immune" from critics, a view Sawyer seemed to express: Sawyer:...

Sawyer Relays NK Propaganda Blaming Bush & Touting 'Happiest Children in the World' Posted by Brent Baker on October 20, 2006 - 03:17. On Thursday's World News on ABC, Diane Sawyer checked in from North Korea, but she proved little more than a conveyor belt for the repressive communist regime's propaganda. Talking to a North Korean Army General, she relayed how “he said to us, 'make it clear to everyone in the United States, if there is another nuclear test, the person responsible is George Bush,' because he said, 'the Bush administration is backing North Korea into a corner with...

by Mark Finkelstein October 19, 2006 - 09:24 On his show yesterday, MSNBC's Tucker Carlson congratulated Diane Sawyer of ABC for leaving the comforts of home to report from North Korea. Judging by her report this morning, you'd have to say the rigors have been worth it. Sawyer has been on a week-long stay in Dear-Leader Land, and this morning she scored an important story. A top N. Korean general flatly told her that his country has the means to deliver a nuclear weapon. Sawyer: "We asked him what the words of North Korea meant when they said there would...

Diane Sawyer to Report From North Korea By DIANE SAWYER Oct. 16, 2006 — Over the weekend, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose tough sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test, including inspections of cargo going in and out of the country. North Korea called the sanctions "gangsterlike" and ominously warned of taking "physical countermeasures." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads off on a trip to Asia today to consult with other nations about the crisis. Watch Diane Sawyer's report from North Korea on "Good Morning America" Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. But dealing with...

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 9, 2006 - 08:06. Howard Dean's 2004 presidential primary run was largely fueled by internet-driven support orchestrated by campaign manager Joe Trippi. That campaign fell famously short in the echoes of Dean's Iowa caucus-night scream. But with Ned Lamont's win, the left wing blogosphere can this morning claim perhaps its first major victory . . . at least in a Democratic primary if not in a general election. And that, in turn, raises the real question. Does the same left-wing blogosphere that can influence the outcome of Dem primaries foist on the party candidates...

by Mark Finkelstein April 25, 2006 Have a look at the two screen captures from this morning's shows. Same issue, different takes. Good Morning America is apparently sure that gas price gouging exists, and wants to stop it. 'Today' is agnostic, simply posing the question whether gouging is going on. But when you turn to the substance of the two segments, there was one consistency: neither show adduced any evidence of gouging. Not a scintilla to show that oil companies are in fact colluding. And without collusion there can be no sustained gouging, since any company that pushed prices higher...

Outraged ABC viewers are calling on the network to fire Diane Sawyer after the anchor broadcast a TV segment that included the beating of a teenage girl by her father – without first going to authorities about what was captured on tape. During Friday's "Primetime" news magazine show, Sawyer presented a segment about dysfunctional stepfamilies, which featured a profile of a family in Lake Placid, N.Y. According to a report in the New York Post, state police officials in Lake Placid say they are going over the tape to determine if charges can be brought against the natural father,...