Stephanopoulos'
debut gooses 'GMA'
Though barely, with the ABC morning show up 300,000
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Dec 16, 2009
It seems the media were more interested in George Stephanopoulos' ascension at "Good Morning America" than the general public.
"GMA" drew a respectable 4.65 million total viewers for Stephanopoulos' first day on the job Monday, down 200,000 from the number who tuned in for Diane Sawyer's final broadcast last Friday though up 300,000 from the previous Monday.
But it was well under the nearly 7 million who watched Meredith Vieira's first broadcast as co-host of "Today" on NBC two years ago, just as Sawyer's farewell was seen by roughly 3.6 million fewer than Katie Couric's adieu in 2006, when she also left to become a nightly news anchor.
But whereas Couric's departure and Vieira's arrival were more of an event, as befits the longtime No. 1 morning news program, ABC's transition was heralded in a more business-like, less party-like fashion, as befits the longtime No. 2 morning news program.
The Stephanopoulos hiring made waves on blogs and in media circles, which have endlessly debated his fitness for the job. It wasn't helped by the fact that ABC dallied in naming a replacement for Sawyer, who had been at "GMA" for a decade, feeding the media frenzy.
As for Sawyer, her lower farewell numbers weren't surprising, as the more private journalist has never inspired quite the public fascination of Couric. The current "CBS Evening News" anchor became a widow at a young age while hosting "Today," inspiring her very public crusade against colon cancer.
When Couric transitioned to CBS, it was with the promise of shaking up the longstanding evening news model. She debuted to huge numbers, then quickly plunged to third place.
ABC apparently learned from the Couric debacle and has made no such promises. Sawyer will officially take over "World News" next month, but she'll quietly slip into the anchor seat for a few telecasts next week, after current anchor Charles Gibson has said goodbye.
As for Stephanopoulos, he has time to find his footing. While critics observed that Monday's show had a bit of a harder news edge to it, and seemed to play more to the "This Week" anchor's strength as a political analyst, morning shows tend to evolve over months rather than days or weeks, as the co-hosts become more comfortable with one another and establish some chemistry.
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