A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Diane Sawyer. It's taken Diane Sawyer a lifetime to achieve her dream -- post Nixon, where in another life she lived in American politics -- of anchoring the evening news. From Bill Carter of The New York Times:

"With Ms. Sawyer’s ascension to World News, two of the three network evening newscasts will be anchored by women. Katie Couric took over the 'CBS Evening News' in 2006.

"'You’re going to have, for the first time ever, two women competing as solo anchors in a television framework that just — within living memory — sort of destroyed every woman who tried to do it,' said Richard Wald, a former news executive at ABC and NBC.

In an e-mail message to the ABC News staff, Mr. Westin said, 'Charlie and I have been talking about his decision for several weeks, and he has persuaded me that this is both what he wants and what is best for him. I respect his decision, just as I respect the enormous contribution he has made to ABC News through the years. Most recently, he stepped in to lead World News after a difficult and turbulent time – both for the broadcast and for ABC News over all. We suffered from the loss of Peter [Jennings] and then the severe injuries to Bob [Woodruff]. Charlie came to the fore to keep us on the path of doing the first-rate journalism that had distinguished World News for many years. We owe him much for the leadership he gave us when we needed it most.'"

In a nod to the growing power of online news, Matt Drudge broke the story and Sawyer issued her first statement to TVNewser.



Out: Whitney Houston. In the perfect redemption biopic, the singer, after a declining career, embarrassing, well-publicized antics, food issues and a raging drug addiction, comes back and reclaims her position atop the charts with a single, irreproachable performance. It didn't quite happen to Whitney Houston yesterday in Central Park. From Papermag:

"Unfortunately, Whitney’s voice ain't what it used to be (methinks that had something to do with the performance being pre-recorded), but she did apologize for the rough notes due to 'too much talking when I should be singing' while filming Oprah the day before. But she hasn't lost her entertaining Whitney-isms: the dramatic posing, the 'you, you, yoooou' riffing and pointing, and yes, even the sweat was totally all there."

Ah, well, it is early in the redemption process. There will be other opportunities. And her diehard fans will always love her.