Vieira: Was ABC’s First Choice In 1999?

A former ABCer weighs in on Meredith Vieira:

“It’s no secret Meredith was ABC’s first choice to revamp GMA before they got Diane to do it. I was at ABC at the time, and my memory is that Phyllis even acknowledged that Meredith turned it down to see her kids off to school in the morning. (I think they even offered her the opportunity to just do the 8am hour to accomodate her, and still she declined). But she would be a GREAT morning host — you can’t ignore her former 60 Minutes credentials — and I have to think she has always wondered what it would have been like.”