By DAVID BAUDERAP Television Writer
NEW YORK – Charles Gibson, who provided a steadying hand to a "World News" broadcast reeling from tragedy, will retire at the end of the year and ABC News appointed Diane Sawyer on Wednesday to replace him in January.
Gibson, 66, said he had been planning to retire at the end of 2007 but events compelled him to stay. He was named anchor following the death of Peter Jennings and the wartime injury of Bob Woodruff in 2006. He's been at ABC News for 35 years and says he plans to continue as an occasional contributor.
Sawyer's elevation means that, with Katie Couric at CBS, two of the three leading anchors for the broadcast networks will be women.
Gibson's comforting presence made him an instant ratings hit at "World News" at a time the othe
r networks had much younger anchors. But NBC's Brian Williams eventually passed him by and has been leading in the ratings for the past year, with "World News" a solid second.
"The program is now operating at a very accelerated, but steady, cruising speed and I think it is an opportune time for a transition — both for the broadcast and for me," Gibson said in an e-mail to fellow ABC News staffers. "Life is dynamic; it is not static." Full Story
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