The buzz for a while now, since it was announced that Diane Sawyer was going to take over World News Tonight in January, has been that ABC was considering George Stephanopolous to replace her at Good Morning America. Stephanopoulos hosts the weekend political show This Week and subs in occasionally on GMA. Rebecca Dana over at the Daily Beast reports that not only is the scuttlebutt true, but ABC News president David Westin has all but offered the former Clinton press secretary the job. “It’s George’s now to lose,” a source told Dana. If Stephanopoulos takes the job, of course, several other questions arise.
Chris Cuomo, the current GMA news anchor and de facto co-host with Diane, has been vying for the job, too. If Stephanopoulos gets it, the lead team of four will consist of three men and one woman — Robin Roberts — in an hour that is heavily skewed toward a female audience. Also, there’s the question of The Week, which, a source told Dana, Stephanopoulos is gunning to keep for himself. Apparently Nightline co-anchor Terry Moran and Daily Intel fave Jake Tapper are next in line for the Sunday slot if he leaves.
Whatever happens, it will take a series of strong moves on behalf of the GMA team to keep the show in competition with NBC’s Today show. Since Gibson left, the ratings have dipped, and when Sawyer goes, they’re expected to dip even further.
ABC Zeroes In on George [Daily Beast]