Stephanopoulos to Join ‘Good Morning’

Maybe they're paying him a ton more. Maybe he wanted to live in New York. But isn't "This Week" the better gig? Especially for a political animal like Stephanopoulos?

To get up every morning at 4:00 and do cooking segments (I don't care what they told him. The mornings means soft news & pandering for ratings.) instead of hosting a Sunday program & interviewing national & world leaders.

I don't get it. But then I hate getting up before sunrise.

 

The big looser will be "Morning Joe" if the show focuses sufficiently on politics. I'm OK with that.

 

I've always had a ton of respect for Stephanopoulos. His book was outstanding and I think even given his background, he's one of the most balanced news people on TV.

 

It can't. Too many commercials, too many breaks for local weather & news.

Too many soccer moms to appeal too.

 

I agree with YF. No matter how much he wants to flip the equation, there will be much more cooking and soft news than political nitty gritty for George here. But I'm sure the money and profile is outrageous.

 

That book was outstanding. Don't think Dick Morris would agree with us, though.

 

Weirdest hire ever.

If he's doing news, he's hardly objective, having served inthe Clinton White House.

And despite Westin's claim, the morning shows are never going to get away from being predominantly happy talk, movie promos, book promos, product promos, TV promos.

So either George Snuffalupagus is going to lose all credibility for doing the latter, or he's compromising the credibility of the news he delivers by coming in with an clear bias.

IMO

 

I'm not to worried about the bias.

It matters less in straight news than the political stuff he was already doing. Besides, I thought he was pretty fair on "This Week" and it's not like you don't know what side of the fence he's coming from.

 

I think ABC sold him on it by saying, if you want to continue thinking you have a shot at our anchor chair - you will take this job. Sawyer will be 64 this month, which will probably give her the chair through 2016. And there is nobody else in line for the chair at ABC.

 

I'll miss those full-length shots of Diane.

I know, but I can't help myself.

 

Absolutely no way on Earth "This Week" is a better gig. I would agree that "This Week" is a better fit for him, but in terms of exposure it is dwarfed by GMA. I assume there is a significant pay bump to go with it. If he's looking to climb the ladder this is a job he couldn't turn down.

He's replacing Diane Sawyer. You do realize she was a speechwriter for Nixon, right?

 

I hadn't thought of that, but you're probably right. Sawyer won't be there long.

But will the network anchor job still be a big deal in a few years?

Depends on what you consider "better".

Yeah, GMA is more exposure, but it's exposure to soccer moms, not Washington D.C.'s elite. It's also everyday. And it's early.