ABC may be trying to downplay it, but we’re not.
Diane Sawyer anchored her first "World News" newscast on Monday evening, three days after Charles Gibson vacated the role, creating an opening for Sawyer to move from her familiar role as host of ABC’s "Good Morning America." The nightly news spot was a job Sawyer has long coveted.
Refresh this page for updates beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST …
5:30PM: Before we get cracking, here’s a behind-the-scenes preview of Sawyer at work today, via TVNewser. Fun fact: She wears hoodies — and glasses — in the newsroom.
6:30PM: Dressed in a stately blue blazer and white blouse, the Sawyer Era begins: "It is so good to be here with you tonight …"
6:31PM: First story: The Healthcare Bill …
6:33PM: George Stephanopoulos — Sawyer’s "GMA" replacement, identified here as "ABC chief political correspondent," comes on for his regular segment.
6:35PM: Story #2: Travel delay chaos, post blizzard. Another layup for a former morning show host.
6:36PM: Story #3: "Nation’s dramatic drops in crime." This has got to be the dream news lineup for a network trying to downplay a debut.
6:37PM: Sawyer flubs the teaser before the first commercial, refers to "presents" as "presidents." Not entirely her fault as the control room flubbed the video roll, which was showing a clip of her exclusive interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while Sawyer was trying to tease a Christmas story.
6:40PM: Ah, that Ahmadinejad interview. Pretaped last week. Here you go.
6:51PM: Brittany Murphy update: Nothing we didn’t know this morning. Sawyer handled it well, though.
6:52PM: Obama’s surprise visit to a D.C. Boys and Girls Club. Another softball.
6:53PM: "Nailbiting time for Christmas procrastinators." Ooh. Seriously, are all nightly network newscasts exactly like the morning ones?
6:59PM: Sawyer: "And for you, Charlie Gibson, I hope you had a good day and a great night."
And Sawyer’s first night sign-off: "I’m Diane Sawyer. I’ll see you tomorrow."
[Photo via ABC]
