USA Today's Take on Diane debut
Diane Sawyer slips easily into the anchor chair
By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
It was a good night for Diane Sawyer, though if you don't like Diane Sawyer,
that won't much matter.
And that's really what it comes down to in the network evening news race - a
race, by the way, that still draws about 23 million viewers a night. With
all three broadcasts fundamentally equal in terms of approach, philosophy,
budget and talent, the dividing line is the anchor, and the choice is really
more a matter of personal preference than anchor ability.
Is there anyone who didn't think Sawyer was capable of anchoring ABC World
News With Diane Sawyer? She has been on the air for almost 30 years,
interviewing world leaders, playing traffic cop at times of crisis, writing
stories, managing a staff and reading a teleprompter. She clearly has the
skills; the open questions are whether she has the gravitas and the appeal.
Shown mostly in tight close-up, Sawyer made a strong, if over-animated,
debut. (There was more head-bobbing and grimacing than was necessary.) The
highlight was an exclusive interview with Iran's President Ahmadinejad,
which showed her at her newsmaking best. ("We don't want nuclear bomb," he
told her. "We don't accept it. Finished.")
It was a fine performance, but that won't be how everyone sees it; that has
never been how everyone sees Sawyer. Where some see glamour and
graciousness, others see privilege and condescension. There's a
lady-of-the-manor air about her; you either want to breathe it or you don't.
But the same kind of opinion dichotomy applies to her rivals. NBC's Brian
Williams loves to appear on Leno and 30 Rock. That either strikes you as
proof that he's a witty, down-to-earth multitasker or that he's as desperate
for celebrity as any Laguna teen.
Which leaves CBS' Katie Couric. Some say her perkiness is a facade, and
she's really smart as a whip and tough as nails - to which I say "probably"
and "thank goodness." She's the most controversial, most discussed, and, in
the lingering wake of her Sarah Palin interviews, most influential of the
anchors.
That makes Couric a great choice - unless you don't like her. In which case,
Sawyer will do just fine.
Donna C
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Joseph Nebus
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 11:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: damn you, ABC and TIVO. God damn you all to hell (fwd)
On Dec 22, 2009, at 9:04 AM, danny burstein wrote:
> Because TIVO had the season pass as being
> "ABC World News with Charlie Gibson.
>
> It's now "... with Diane Sawyer".
As long as we're at it, can I complain about the new www.reuters.com
format, which is utterly impassable by normal mortals? At least the
Reuters UK servers are still presenting readable pages.
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