Diane Sawyer will step down from anchoring the flagship nightly news program "ABC World News" in August to concentrate full time on new program and major interviews for all of ABC's programs.
The company
made the announcement on Wednesday morning, saying Sawyer will be replaced by David Muir, currently co-anchor of "20/20," on September 2. George Stephanopoulos, host of Sunday talk show "This Week" and co-host of "Good Morning America" will anchor breaking news coverage such as election nights.
"I'll be joined by an incredible team of journalists dedicated to enterprise reporting, innovative approaches to breaking news and new ways of thinking about big issues and events around the world," Sawyer said as part of the company's press release. "I can’t wait to continue bringing more of my specials to prime time and appearing on all ABC News broadcasts, as well."
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The veteran newscaster also took to Twitter after the announcement to congratulate her colleagues.
The New York Times reported that the repositioning comes amid rapidly increasing competition between ABC and NBC.
"ABC News has mounted a wide-ranging challenge to NBC News as the ratings leader across numerous programs, having already topped NBC’s 'Today' show as the dominant morning news program with 'Good Morning America,' and edging past 'Meet the Press' on Sundays with 'This Week,'" it wrote Wednesday.
Sawyer, 68, has anchored "World News" for nearly five years.
James Goldston, president of ABC News, reassured viewers that "For many years to come, Diane will be a driving force at ABC News."
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