December 9, 2009 A Shake-Up at ‘Good Morning America’ By BRIAN STELTER and BILL CARTER NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/business/media/09abc.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print ABC News is on the verge of announcing a new cast for “Good Morning America,” its morning show. George Stephanopoulos is expected to be named the new co-host, succeeding Diane Sawyer, whose last day on “G.M.A.” is Friday. And JuJu Chang, an ABC News correspondent, will become the program’s news reader, in place of Chris Cuomo, according to a person familiar with the plans. The co-host Robin Roberts and the weatherman Sam Champion are expected to keep their jobs on “G.M.A.” The anchor changes — expected to be announced on Thursday — will restore a two-man, two-woman gender balance to the show. The revamp of “G.M.A.” is being closely watched in television news circles, in part because the program has strived for more than a decade to defeat NBC’s “Today,” the most-watched morning news show. Although Mr. Cuomo is leaving “G.M.A.,” he is in negotiations with ABC about a new position, the person familiar with the plans said. He could become the co-anchor of the Friday night newsmagazine “20/20," which is currently anchored by Elizabeth Vargas. Mr. Cuomo, the son of Mario Cuomo, the former governor of New York, could also choose to leave ABC. He has a clause in his contract that allows him to consider offers from other networks in the event that he was passed over for the co-host job, an executive aware of his contract status said. The New York Post first reported Mr. Cuomo’s departure and Ms. Chang’s hiring on Tuesday afternoon. It was unclear whether Mr. Stephanopoulos would remain the host of “This Week,” the Sunday morning political talk show. The anchor negotiations have been shrouded in secrecy, and the people who spoke this week requested anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to speak. An ABC spokesman declined to comment Tuesday. The shifts at ABC may come at the same time as changes on other morning TV programs. On Wednesday CBS is expected to announce that Zev Shalev, the executive producer of its “Early Show,” is leaving the third-place program, according to a person close to Mr. Shalev. A CBS News spokesman declined to comment. -- ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
