e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Murphy Martin Commentary
May 25, 2006

 "Musical Chairs Continue at ABC-TV"

Katie Couric will not be the first woman to host a major network television news program alone. That has been the lead promotion-line since CBS-TV announced that Couric will be taking over for Bob Schieffer in September. However, in reality, through an unusual set of circumstances, we have been watching a woman going solo, more often than not, on ABC-TV as a replacement for Peter Jennings, who lost his life to lung-cancer last year.

Now that lady, Elizabeth Vargas, is being replaced.

Beginning next Monday, Charles Gibson, an ABC-TV news veteran in numerous capacities for more than three decades, will move into the anchor chair.

It wasn't really planned that way. Earlier this year, after an impasse with network decision-makers over how long "interim" replacement for Peter Jennings would be, Gibson returned to his successful slot as co-host of Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer and ABC-TV announced their new Co-Anchors for the Jenning's slot.

Bob Woodruff and Vargas would be the new team. That worked for nearly a month before tragedy struck. Woodruff had gone to Iraq to gain more exposure for the
new team and to get another feel for the front-lines exposure where he had been earlier as a roving-correspondent. While traveling in a lead vehicle in Baghdad Woodruff and his cameraman were wounded. Woodruff critically by an improvised-explosive-device.

David Westin, head of ABC-TV News, speaking about Woodruff while announcing Gibson's move to the dinner-hour anchor slot this week, said: "Mr. Woodruff is recuperating on his timetable, not ours.....these injuries just take a long time to heal."

Added to the problem for the network was Ms. Vargas expecting her second child in August, and the need for her to take most of the summer off with that pregnancy. If she had been faring better in the ratings game, maybe the network would have tried to play it differently. But, CBS-TV, with Bob Schieffer continuing to improve and even topping ABC-TV a couple of weeks ago for second place, made it easier for ABC to make it's move now rather than later.

Vargas is out of the anchor slot and Gibson is in. Chances are it still may not be easy for Gibson to take back the firm hold ABC had on second place before Jennings died because Schieffer's numbers have been rising steadily since he became the "interim" before the arrival of Katie Couric in September.

Moving one heavyweight out of a very successful spot on Good Morning America may also be something of a gamble for ABC, They still have strength there with Diane Sawyer and likeable Robin Roberts, but do they also need a male presence?

GMA is knocking at the door of the Today Show in early morning, and the leader may become even more vulnerable when Couric leaves the last of this month.

You can bet the bean-counters at all the major networks will be watching how this plays out. They have lost millions of sets in use and more millions in viewers in the last decade. And, with the dinner-hour numbers down and the early morning numbers up, those who keep an eye on network dollars will be closely watching the ebb and flow of the changes in anchor choices morning and evening. What will GMA be without Charley Gibson? What will the Today Show be without Katie Couric? Also, Bob Schieffer will have three more months in the CBS chair before Couric arrives. If he continues his trend, he could hand Ms. Couric the second or maybe even the first spot in the ratings come September.

Charley Gibson's work at the dinner hour will play heavily on how this turns out.

CBS may continue to promote Katie Couric as the first solo anchor-woman of a dinner-hour network news program, but the truth of the matter is ABC-TV has been trying that quite often during the last three-months with Elizabeth Vargas. It did not work!

Stay tuned. Let's look at the ratings again about October 1st and see who's still standing!

With Schieffer leaving, I'll put my money on Charley Gibson!

Murphy Martin

Keep your comments coming!  murphy@murphymartin.com

Your thoughts and comments forwarded to my website will be appreciated.

e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Previous commentaries:
"No Quick Support for Bush Plan"
"Moussaoui Meeting with Virgins Delayed"
"What the Hell Happened?"
"His Name is Still Magic"
"The Tallest Pine is Gone"
"Keeping America Free"
"Remembering"
"Christians vs Muslims"
"Bush Bucks Bashing"
"Early Look at 2008"
"Contrasting Memories"
"Reporter's Rough Roads"
"Another Cowboys Loss"
"People, Places and Things"
"Super Bowl Wasn't So Super"
"State of the Union"
"Is God Dead in Europe?"
"Remembering Dr. King"
"This Week in Review"
"New Year, New Challenges"
"The Party's Over"
"Democracy in the Middle East"
"Unfinished Business"
"Merry Christmas Rules"
"Bush Unveils Plans"
"Today is Special"
"Border Security Now!!!"
"Stupidity Loses Financing"
"Crisis Christians"
"They Led the Way"
"Sadistic Saddam Hussein"
"Bourbon Street Bashing"
"Hurricane Aftermath"
"Standing Tall"
"Never a Dull Moment"
"Another Hero Laid to Rest"
"Blame Game"
"Senior Thoughts For the Young"
"Role Model Challenge"
August 18 - "Network News Anchors"
August 11 - "Now All Three Are Gone"
August 4 - "Trust in the Media"
July 28 - "Television Then and Now"
July 21 -  "The Mick"
July 14 - "Forty Years and Counting"