Diane Sawyer owes Katie Couric, big time.
The speculation about how a woman would do as anchor of a network evening newscast was intense and often personal when Couric succeeded Dan Rather in 2006.
This time, the story is about the reported reluctance within ABC to hand over Charlie Gibson’s job to Sawyer, the fact that Gibson didn’t mention the story on his newscast whereas NBC’s Brian Williams and CBS’ Couric both did on theirs.
And then there’s the awkward, widely reported on-the-record comment from the head of the news division that this was “not a result he wanted.” ABC News President David Westin begged Gibson to stay.
Clearly the ABC brass are grateful to Gibson for offering stability after Peter Jennings died and Bob Woodruff suffered his debilitating accident. But they could at least sound upbeat for Sawyer, who has been patiently waking up early for the network for a decade. And tactfully masking any ambition for the anchor chair, long considered to be part of her DNA.
This time around, the idea of a female in the job is a “nonstory,” Alex S. Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University told Variety.
It would be nice to think that, in 2009, we’ve moved beyond the need to note that two women will now be at the helm of network evening newscasts for the first time. But it remains an obvious first. American Women in Radio and Television, an organization devoted to representing and supporting women in the business, awkwardly celebrated the fact this way:
“AWRT congratulates Diane Sawyer, lifetime member of AWRT, for being named anchor of ABC’s ‘World News.’ Sawyer should not be thought of as a worthy woman to serve in this important and powerful post; she should be thought of as a worthy individual and journalist.”
As soon as the group changes its name to American Individuals in Radio and Television, their claim will have more bearing.
It’s mildly significant that two of the premiere news positions long held by males are now to be occupied by females. It was mildly significant when Sawyer became the first female to break into the “60 Minutes” correspondents’ men’s club.
What’s more significant is the change in the news landscape overall. Cable has had female news anchors for years — Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, CNN’s Campbell Brown. And cable has been successfully drawing away audiences from the network dinner-time half-hours.
A decade ago, the three network evening newscasts together commanded the attention of nearly 30 million Americans a night. Now they attract 20 million a night.
In the current season, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” leads with an average 8.6 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight with Charles Gibson” is second with 7.8 million viewers. CBS’ “Evening News With Katie Couric” trails with 6.1 million.
In Denver, where the three network newscasts compete at the inconvenient-to-commuters hour of 5:30 p.m., the ranking is the same. Over the past 11 months, NBC’s Williams drew an average 139,000 local viewers, ABC’s Gibson attracted 96,000 and CBS’ Couric had 65,000.
The big moneymakers for the networks are the morning shows, the only area of the broadcast schedule that shows audience and revenue growth. Sawyer’s ascension to the evening opens what could be a wide-ranging competition for her “Good Morning America” slot, with no heir apparent.
Meanwhile, the shakeup in the evening news likely means a segment of the audience will be up for grabs. A change in anchors inevitably leads to some sampling, which heightens competition for all parties.
In January, the race is on.
Sawyer owes Couric for taking the heat about hair, wardrobe and more. It will be a battle of journalistic enterprise from now on (also personality, charm, mannerisms and attitude.)
Just hope that nobody uses the word “catfight.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
