TVSquad

Walter Cronkite is a tougher act to follow than letting Metallica open for William Hung.

But now that the news legend and former most trusted man in America has passed on to that big newsroom in the great beyond, America needs someone else to trust. They need someone they can depend on to get the hard, cold facts about the important stories that truly affect their lives. They need someone to cut through the political haze of misdirection and mediocrity that cloud almost every major news story like a lingering beer fart.

That man is ... Jon Stewart. Don't like it? Blame the rest of the news media for not doing a better job.

"M*E*S*S": God, this was so depressing. Our wounded soldiers are being treated in awful conditions. Senior Military Analyst John Oliver elaborated on the situation. There is no longer any doubt in my mind: John Oliver lives in the Daily Show studio.

"Dodge Caravan": What was up with that Tony Snow clip? It looked like it was pulled from, like, YouTube or something. Damn interns and their inability to find high-quality clips. Anyway, this segment actually managed to top the "M*E*S*S" bit and make me even more depressed. What a downer.

Bob Woodruff, the ABC News anchor who was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq last January, will soon start appearing in some primetime newscasts. His first assignment is to report on himself-- the attack and his recovery. ABC is calling his recovery "miraculous". He spent the summer recuperating with his family, where his wife says he played tennis, drove the boat and even did pilates with his sister-in-law.

ABC says Woodruff will slowly return starting this fall, but he's not getting his anchor chair back. That's all Charlie's now. Do you think there's an awkward relationship there? Bob didn't even have his anchoring gig for a month before the attack.

To follow up on what Keith mentioned earlier today, Brian Williams has a lot of good quotes in this interview with Ed Bark from The Dallas Morning News, including this one:

"If my folks have a new slogan loaded up, they have not shared it with me. I think the feeling in this building is we'll do the best by being the best. I don't plan to change this newscast. We don't need to. Let's do the best newscast instead of the best commercials."

That last part seems to be an indirect nod towards the CBS commercials for Katie Couric taking over the CBS Evening News, and if you don't believe that, there's this quote, when asked why he's in Dallas, as Couric was earlier this summer:

"I'm not coming to address a rally or whip up large crowds of people."

Williams keeps track of the competition, and has been in the business long enough to know what would work on the show and what wouldn't.

"I could load up the Nightly News with crap and probably get a higher rating. We know how to do that but we won't."

NBC Nightly News continues to be the #1 network news program.

[via TV Newser]

Starting this evening (probably as I type this), ABC is debuting a new name for its nightly newscast. It's nothing radical; they've just removed one pesky word: "Tonight."

The decision to rename World News Tonight, which ABC has been using since 1978, to World News (actually, World News with Charles Gibson), is due to the fact that there is now an afternoon webcast attached to the program and updates made on ABCNews.com all day long. According to news president David Westin, "We are committed to expanding ABC News and World News into the 24-hour space created by the digital world, and it makes sense for that reality to be reflected in the title of the broadcast."

This TV Week article also notes that this is the first time the broadcast's title has incorporated Gibson's name. Gibson, of course, took over the anchor spot in June.

This Wednesday marks the last day that Charles Gibson will co-host Good Morning America. He's not going very far of course: just to the evening anchor chair at the same network. And, this is his second send-off from GMA. Gibson was on GMA for ten years until he left in 1998. Nine months later, he returned to the morning anchor desk and has been there ever since.

Wednesday's farewell episode for Gibson will include special guests Joan Lunden and David Hartman. But, don't expect it to be anything like the tearful love-fest when rival Katie Couric left Today.

When Elizabeth Vargas stepped down from her job anchoring World News Tonight, many felt that she was forced to do it by ABC higher-ups because of an unfortunate confluence of poor ratings, Bob Woodruff's injury and her unexpected pregnancy. The pregnancy angle riled up lots of people, including feminist groups such as NOW. In fact, these groups publicly criticized the network, even bringing in its treatment of the Geena Davis-led Commander-in-Chief into their tirades (talk about going a step too far...).

But Vargas insists that the decision to give up the WNT anchor chair was hers. In fact, as she tells Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer, "I played a crucial and active role in this decision. It's the best thing for me and my family and my career right now... . I have no complaints." She still wants to anchor a five-day-per-week show in some capacity -- maybe even in the mornings -- but she won't even attempt to do so until both her kids are a little older.

[via Mediabistro]

New ABC World News Tonight anchor Charles Gibson took the helm on Monday and already he's in a bit of hot water. In a question-and-answer style interview printed in New York magazine, Gibson appears to suggest that issues in Africa are not worth covering. When asked whether he'll be traveling as much as his rival, Brian Williams, who reported from Africa late last month on the issues of poverty and AIDS, Gibson answered, "Now he's in Africa. I don't know why you do that. Why the hell do you go to Africa? It's certainly an interesting choice. We'll do travel, when it warrants."

Gibson says he was quoting an e-mail he sent to a friend who works as a producer for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. In an interview with the Associated Press today, Gibson clarifies that he was questioning why Brian Williams had to go to Africa with a rock star (U2's Bono).

In this Slate story about the "real" reasons behind the departure of Elizabeth Vargas from ABC's World News Tonight - you can debate the whole "is she being let go because she's pregnant?" question, because I think it's a shaky argument to delve into and is sort of an insult to Vargas and her pregnancy - there's a quote from a journalism professor about Charlie Gibson (taking over for Vargas) and Katie Couric (taking over for Bob Schieffer):

"Gibson is an excellent choice, and having him start three months before Katie Couric is probably a good strategy. Gibson is a solid newsman, old school, nothing frilly or fancy. The contrast with Couric will be stunningly obvious."

Now wait a second. Isn't Gibson coming from Good Morning America, a morning talk show just like The Today Show? I've seen him talk about American Idol and interview movie stars and help with the cooking segments, so how is that different from Couric (regardless of the years that Gibson has over Couric)? Has anyone who has seen Couric handle serious news - from 9/11 to Columbine to Katrina - really think she can't be a serious prescence on the evening news? It's not like they're bringing in Bozo The Clown or Martha Stewart to do the news, she's been a newsperson for a while. Hell, even Mike Wallace did morning shows and cheesy commercials.

I don't know, the quote seems out of touch.

Now that her Good Morning, America coanchor Charles Gibson is going to be the anchor of ABC's World News Tonight, industry insiders are saying that Diane Sawyer might see this as an opportunity to go someplace else, and some are guessing CNN, which NY Times TV writer Bill Carter predicts will soon be going through some major changes.

It probably doesn't help that GMA's surge has sort of waned in the battle with NBC's The Today Show, and when Meredith Viera comes on board ...

ABC News announced today that Charlie Gibson will be taking over as sole anchor of World News Tonight on May 29. He will be juggling the assignment with his duties as anchor on Good Morning America until the end of June, after which he will work only on the evening newscast. This news comes in the wake of Elizabeth Vargas' impending maternity leave; she will return in the fall to her duties on 20/20, and will do occasional news specials, but she will not return to WNT. The ABC announcement also mentioned that this move gives Bob Woodruff time to recover from the injuries he suffered in Iraq earlier this year; whether he'll make it back at all is still up in the air, though.

[via Mediabistro]

To the right is the first picture America has seen of Bob Woodruff, co-anchor of ABC's World News Tonight since he was severely injured in Iraq back in January. To accompany the picture, ABC released a message he sent to the news division president, David Westin, which was then relayed to his co-workers.

"Though I know there is still a long road ahead, it's nice to be feeling more like myself again laughing with family, reading bedtime stories and reminding my kids to do their homework," Woodruff wrote.

No indication was given as to when he'd return to WNT, who will be losing their other co-anchor, Elizabeth Vargas, when she goes on maternity leave later this year.

[Photo: ABC News/Ida Mae Astute via AP]

According to the New York Post, ABC World News Tonight anchor Elizabeth Vargas is having a boy. The network news anchor is due in late summer.

The little boy will be her second son. She and husband, singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, have another son, Zachary, who is three.

Cameraman Doug Vogt is out of the hospital and headed to the home he shares with his wife in France. Vogt and ABC World News Tonight anchor Bob Woodruff were riding with a military convoy outside of Baghdad last month when the vehicle they were riding in hit a roadside bomb. Both men were treated by military personnel and flown to Germany and then America for treatment. Vogt was released from Bethesda Medical Center this week, but Woodruff remains sedated. Doctors say Woodruff may be able to move to a care facility near his home in New York in the next few weeks.

And in a related story, ABC World News Tonight will now be anchored by talking robots. Well not really, but ABC has to be worried about the future repercussions that will arise when Vargas has to take maternity leave. Still reeling from the absence of Bob Woodruff (who's condition has been improving), ABC has been pulling out all the stops to keep the evening news program on it's feet. Charles Gibson and Dianne Sawyer have helped out since Woodruff was injured in Iraq.

Vargas is married to songwriter Mark Cohn and this will be the couple's second child together. Cohn has children from a previous marriage. ABC News Prez David Westin was excited for the couple in the midst of what has been some rough times for the entire ABC News family. Vargas has been co-anchoring World News Tonight since January 3, but the baby is not due until the summer.