There goes Sunday
George Stephanopoulos will give up discussing important issues facing the nation and world on “This Week” — which at this stage is such an infinitely superior show to the weak “Meet the Press” starring Dubya’s pal “Stretch,” that it’s really not worth Tivo’ing both shows anymore — to do cooking segments and interview muppets, reality show winners, and cast members from “Glee.” Good luck with that, George. From Politico:
ABC News will announce George Stephanopoulos as an anchor of “Good Morning America,” to start as soon as Monday, industry sources tell POLITICO. The announcement is planned for Thursday.
Stephanopoulos, 48, joins Robin Roberts at the anchor desk of the lucrative morning show. He will succeed Diane Sawyer, who has her last day on the show Friday and begins Dec. 21 as anchor of “World News.”
Stephanopoulos may keep his Sunday show, “This Week,” for a transition period. The network brass don’t want to disrupt that show, which is doing well. Eventually, a new host would be named.
So did George want the new gig, or was he pushed? At least some media critics are pointing to the New York-D.C. disconnect among network executives, who in their outdated mindset, consider their morning shows to be the big prize, despite the fact that the Sunday shows are what make political analysts into superstars. They probably think they’re giving George a promotion, poor dears. And he probably didn’t have much choice but to say thank you and keep it moving. The Sunday show-morning show freight train keeps on trucking, from Katie Couric to Diane Sawyer, and apparently, it will eventually ensnare the awful, awful David Gregory too:
Network executives might not understand that, but they’re ready to play along. One reason NBC reportedly named David Gregory as Russert’s successor after the death of the popular “Meet the Press” host was its desire to keep him in the NBC family as a likely successor to Matt Lauer on “Today.”
Andrew Tyndall, a television news analyst, said those executives might be working from an outdated playbook. While the morning shows have long been the “key profit center” for the broadcast networks, he said, Sunday morning shows “have more newsmaking clout in the new video era, [while] the ephemeral formulas of morning television less so.”
“As all journalism—print, video, online and so on—shifts from mass audience to niche, moving from ‘This Week’ to “GMA” looks like a backwards career step,” Tyndall said, “never mind whether Stephanopoulos himself will feel comfortable in the morning role.”
Meanwhile, if Jake Tapper gets “This Week,” the righties will have successfully captured Sunday mornings (The Chris Matthews Show excepted.)
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