World News Tomorrow
Charles Gibson
America said goodbye to ABC World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings in a big way last week. The program topped NBC Nightly News in the weekly ratings for the first time since July 2004. The Aug. 8 edition, anchored by Good Morning America's Charles Gibson the day after Jennings' death, was watched by 10.5 million viewers. Only the top five prime-time shows had higher ratings last week. (On Monday, the first day World News Tonight aired without Jennings' name in the title, NBC regained the ratings lead.)
The official line at ABC News is that it will be a while before a permanent replacement for Jennings is announced. But tea-leaf readers in the TV news business believe it will be Gibson, who skillfully handled ABC's breaking coverage of Jennings' death. He provided the kind of comforting presence that you want from a network anchor during a crisis.
"I would be shocked if he doesn't get it," said one high-ranking executive at a rival network.
Out of respect for Jennings, ABC News insiders have been steadfast in not discussing who would replace the anchor. But Gibson — who has done the bulk of the fill-in work since Jennings announced he was ill on April 5 — has been the leading candidate, and is said to want the job.
The question is how to handle Gibson's departure from Good Morning America. Last spring, Good Morning America's team of Gibson and Diane Sawyer came tantalizingly close to catching NBC's Today show in the ratings for the first time in 10 years.
The gap has widened since the TV season ended, but the race is expected to tighten again once ABC's red-hot prime-time schedule returns. Last season the massive audience for Desperate Housewives on Sunday night gave GMA a big boost on Monday mornings. When this fall season starts, get ready for the tie-ins: Good Morning America is already running promos for its "Desperate Housewives Greatest Fan Contest."
Removing Gibson from the morning mix could slow GMA's momentum. That's why there is still some talk of the network turning to 20/20 coanchor Elizabeth Vargas — who captured the same share of the evening-news audience as Gibson when she filled in for Jennings in recent months — or the highly regarded evening-news weekend anchor Bob Woodruff to fill the World News Tonight seat. But some competitors believe ABC may ask Gibson to juggle both jobs through the year, or at least until the network can notch a win in the morning.
