David Muir, anchor of World News Tonight, has begun leading coverage of ABC News special events, breaking news and political coverage. ABC News has phased out the chief anchor title that George Stephanopoulos, Good Morning America co-anchor, had, with Muir taking lead on the major stories. The changes began last month.
On Feb. 22, Muir led special coverage of President Biden commemorating the 500,000 Americans lost to COVID.
Muir took over World News Tonight in 2014, succeeding Diane Sawyer, and the broadcast has emerged as a power in evening news. World News Tonight won the 2019-2020 evening news race in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo, averaging 9.39 million total viewers. Muir’s interviews include President Obama, President Trump, Hillary Clinton and Pope Francis.
Stephanopoulos was the primary ABC anchor on coverage of President Trump’s impeachment late in 2019, among other major news stories. Prior to his chief anchor title getting phased out, his ABC bio read, “Stephanopoulos leads the network’s coverage on all major live events and breaking news around the world.”
CNN Business previously reported on Muir’s expanded role. Stephanopoulos got a contract extension and will produce programs for Disney-owned platforms, CNN reported, and will host primetime specials on ABC.
Two years ago, a news insider said, ABC News asked Muir to take on an expanded role as lead anchor, and he agreed.
