As anchor of top-rated evening newscast, Gibson used clout not to lead with Falwell

WP: ABC News's Charlie Gibson Calls the Shots, Lands on Top
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 17, 2007; Page C01


"At the beginning, I kept thinking, 'Well, I'm not absolutely certain I'm right.' Now I'm more willing to express my gut," says ABC anchor Charlie Gibson. (By Helayne Seidman For The Washington Post)

NEW YORK, May 16 -- After word arrived Tuesday afternoon that Jerry Falwell had suffered a fatal heart attack, Charlie Gibson was determined not to lead his newscast with the preacher's death.

"It lends importance to a figure whose legacy contained a lot of positives and a lot of negatives," says the ABC anchor, who was once a reporter in Falwell's home base of Lynchburg, Va. "It venerates the subject to an extent that I didn't think belonged there. He was a controversial figure."

There was no right answer -- NBC's Brian Williams and CBS's Katie Couric both led with multiple Falwell stories, while Gibson began with a possible deal on immigration legislation. But the decision underscored the extent to which Gibson is firmly in control at what recently emerged as the top-rated evening newscast....

When he took over "World News" one year ago, Gibson was featured on no magazine covers, appeared in no gossip columns and shied away from interviews. He practically sneaked onto the stage during the media frenzy over Couric's pending move to CBS....

***

Gibson's relaxed style has revived a news division that lost one anchor to cancer and temporarily lost another to a roadside bomb in Iraq. "World News" has led the ratings pack for 10 of the last 14 weeks. Last week, Gibson drew 7.91 million viewers, Williams 7.16 million and Couric 6.13 million....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051700002.html?hpid=sec-artsliving

right wing all the way. After airing Path to 9/11 last fall, days before the election, I swore off of ABC. Haven't watched it since.

I switch between ABC and NBC but I no longer even check to see what CBS has at that time.

You missed a great cooking segment with Ms. Couric and Vladimir Putin!

especially so since Gibson was once right in Falwell's backyard. You get the feeling from the article that Gibson had real contempt for him.

and was surprised they didn't lead with it. Very happy they didn't.

:thumbsup: