World News Tonight’s David Muir – who celebrated his fifth anniversary as anchor of the ABC newscast on Sept. 1 – spoke with USA Today this week about his rise and some of his career highlights:
I have to say that I will never forget a piece of advice early on in my career. I was probably 21 or 22, and I was frustrated. I was working on a story, I wasn’t getting anybody to call me back, and a veteran reporter looked at me and said, “well, if you want this story, you just have to go out and get the story.” It’s such a valuable piece of advice, and I share it with as many young minds as possible. My most rewarding moments in this job on “World News Tonight” are being there, showing up for the story. There are countless examples of these moments and these trips that I’m grateful for, looking back.
We went to Somaliland not long ago – we were there to report on the famine, and I knew it was an important story, but I did wonder: are we saddling our audience with yet something else to worry about, to be concerned about, just given the stakes of what’s happening in our own country right now? I brought this piece back from Somaliland on the famine, and within 72 hours of the report airing, we had raised nearly $2 million to help feed these children and to give them the medicine they need. I’m never surprised, but I’m always moved by the generosity of the people that are watching. It’s proof to me that they do care about their neighbors, whether they’re down the street or halfway across the world.
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Muir also received the Washington Post Magazine treatment this week. He was asked about ratings and if they have any sort of impact on how he goes about his work:
I’ll be honest with you: We’re all aware of the ratings. And all I can say is that I’m just grateful people seem to be responding. The thing it does for me is to reinforce the responsibility we have every night if they’re choosing to come to us to break through the noise — they’re bombarded all day long with tweets or abbreviated forms of news — and try to help them decipher what matters. As we approach another election, I feel more strongly than ever that people have to be armed with information before they can make choices. And more importantly than even that, people have to know that their voices are being heard. Because there is quite a bit of suffering. And the only way people can tell their story is if we actually get out there and give them a voice.
Fox News Outnumbered Overtime anchor Harris Faulkner spoke with Inbetween Magazine:
My rise is more though than just a statistic and it’s not just about me and my own ambitions. Having a black woman sit alone on a set designed for her show is necessary, powerful and emblematic of real change. And I would not be in that anchor seat at Fox News if I didn’t feel celebrated. Diversity is not just about what you will tolerate but, rather what you celebrate.
