GMA Taps Cuomo as News Anchor
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/21/2006 9:06:00 AM EDT
ABC named Primetime co-anchor Chris Cuomo as news anchor of Good Morning America. He joins co-anchors Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts Sept. 5.
Cuomo will report the news block that runs throughout GMA's broadcast, travel to report breaking news stories and be the main substitute anchor for Sawyer and Roberts. He will also continue his anchor work on Primetime.
GMA has had a slot to fill since Charlie Gibson left the program to anchor the evening news. Rather than replacing Gibson with a third anchor, the program is changing gears in creating Cuomo's newsreader position, one like the role Ann Curry fills on NBC's Today.
GMA went with Cuomo because his personality and skill-set fit well with the program, says new senior executive producer Jim Murphy. "He fit very well into this group and he brings a set of skills that help the program," Murphy says. "He is aggressive about news coverage. He is aggressive about booking."
With Sept. 5 looking to be a big day in television news - former Today co-anchor Katie Couric joins the CBS evening news that night - Murphy says GMA won't be making other major changes to its program. "We're not going to be exploding morning television or turning it on its head," he says.
Other ABC internal talent thought to be in the running for the position were Bill Weir, who co-anchors GMA on weekends and WABC anchor Bill Ritter.
Cuomo has been Primetime's co-anchor since April, 2004 and is also the network's Senior Legal Correspondent. He joined ABC News in 2000 after serving as a correspondent for Fox News and Fox. He is the son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo.
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