Hours after announcing she is leaving the anchor desk at ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Diane Sawyer took a moment out of her broadcast on Wednesday evening to explain why she’s stepping aside.
“At the end of the summer, I’m going to be moving to a new role at the network – fulltime, flat-out reporting I love, from around the world,” the legendary anchor said in a heartfelt message to viewers.
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Sawyer’s excitement over her new role might go a long way in explaining why she’s calling it quits at the “World News Tonight” desk while the show’s ratings are growing. As The Wrap previously reported, her show was second among competitors in the 25-54 demographic (with 2.28 million viewers), trailing only NBC’s “Nightly News.”
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When Sawyer leaves in August, George Stephanopoulos will become Chief News Anchor at ABC and David Muir will succeed her at “World News Tonight.”
Sawyer showers Muir with praise in the clip, assuring everyone he is fully capable of doing the job.
Watch the video above of Sawyer’s message to viewers.