ABC News president James Goldston has said World News Tonight anchor David Muir is in the job “for the long haul.”
In an interview with USA Today, Goldston describes Muir as “the epitome of what a modern anchor needs to be…he’s happy shooting on his little camera or cellphone.”
That, of course, sounds far removed from Muir’s iconic predecessors, including Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings. USA Today’s Roger Yu writes the break with the past was deliberate, and essential:
(Muir’s) appointment also speaks volumes about ABC bosses’ desire to reinvigorate the program, attract younger viewers and increase its audience through social media and compelling video — an approach that may appeal to fast-churn audiences but alarm traditionalists.
“He was a natural choice,” Goldston says. “He’s been preparing for this a long time. It wasn’t a difficult decision.”
Muir, who’s familiar with the criticisms of his newscast as the lightest of the network evening news broadcasts, insists it’s unfair–pointing out the network has correspondents around the world covering the most important stories of the day. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to tell them what they’re doing is soft news…I think it’s easy for people to say that because they are not the ones out there putting their lives in danger.”