Is Diane Sawyer Retiring From ABC World News This Year?
Diane Sawyer
Is Diane Sawyer already planning an exit strategy?
Less than four years after taking over ABC World News, the longtime TV journalist is said to be considering retiring later this year, The New York Daily News reports.
"She has discussed with a few close friends and some people at ABC that she is seriously considering retiring," a source tells the newspaper. "She said she'll be ready to hang it up not long down the road. She loves work and what she does and has endless energy, but she's overwhelmed with personal problems and she is thinking about leaving to take care of her family."
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The Daily News says that, in addition to a private matter, Sawyer's mother is ill. There is no diagnosis yet, but "Diane has been going home for long weekends for years every couple of weeks, and that has not been new," a source at the network told the paper. "She doesn't have any plans to be taking off any time."
A rep for ABC flatly denied the retirement rumors, "That's a bunch of nonsense as we made clear and Diane's plans for 2013 haven't changed in any way."
Sawyer, 67, succeeded Charles Gibson in 2009 as the anchor of ABC World News. Before that, she co-hosted Good Morning America for more than 10 years. Sawyer made headlines, but not in the best way, for her erratic performance during ABC News' Election Night coverage. Her odd behavior was later attributed to long hours, as well as a loss of electricity at the studio she was broadcasting from.
Would you miss Sawyer if she retired? Who do you think should succeed her when the time comes?