‘The Nightline Legacy is a Precious Thing Worth Fighting For’

By Chris Ariens 

The anchors and executive producer of ABC’s “Nightline” are opening up about the show: its summer run (dubbed “The Lookout”), its late night move and its future.

“We believed that as long as we were winning, and under budget, we were safe,” co-anchor Bill Weir tells the AP’s David Bauder. “So everyone learned to shoot and edit, and our little band of true believers spilled blood, sweat and tears to win our slot and still tell as many meaningful stories as we could.

It sounds corny, but everyone here believes that a real democracy depends on real journalism and the ‘Nightline’ legacy is a precious thing worth fighting for,” Weir says.

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“Nightline” has lost half its audience since moving to 12:35am in January, but still tops NBC and CBS at that hour. And as Bauder points out, Jimmy Kimmel isn’t doing as well as “Nightline” did at 11:35.

Still, EP Jeanmarie Condon says the new timeslot has provided an opportunity to “reshape the show…” “It’s given us more freedom,” she says.

“When we look back on all of this we’re going to see this as a turning point for a whole new set of opportunities,” says co-anchor Cynthia McFadden. “I hope I’m right, but that’s what I believe.”

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