Diane Sawyer will take over for her colleague Charles Gibson as ABC‘s “World News” anchor in January. She will become only the second woman to hold the position on a major network’s news broadcast.
ABC announced the move on Wednesday. The shake-up will leave a fairly large hole over at “Good Morning America.”
Charles Gibson left “Good Morning America” and took over as anchor for the evening newscast back in 2006. He has helped ABC maintain a second place finish in the ratings.
Gibson is now 66 and his wife has retired. He asked to speak with David Westin, News President at ABC, and said he was given serious consideration to stepping down.
Westin immediately tapped Sawyer to fill the need, and when Charles Gibson finally made his decision, Westin approached her. Sawyer agreed to take the job on Tuesday night.
“It has not been an easy decision to make,” Gibson told his staff in an e-mail. “This has been my professional home for almost 35 years. And I love this news department, and all who work in it, to the depths of my soul.”
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