THE ABC'S OF DESTROYING A NETWORK

This past Monday marked the launch of the new ABC News format. Diane Sawyer replaced Charlie Gibson on ABC World News Tonight. Good Morning America booted Chris Cuomo over to 20/20 and George Stephanopoulos took over for Sawyer as co-anchor alongside Robin Roberts. The end result of all these decisions looks much to me like moving your chess pieces on the board to ensure a defeat. Let's start with Diane Sawyer. I really do like her. I enjoyed her in the often lighthearted environment of morning news. But as a hard news anchor I think she will fall seriously short. After watching only one installment of World News with her as host I don't think I can stand watching thirty minutes of her frowning at me like she just bit into a sour apple. As for George Stephanopoulos, his personality is way too stale to watch for 2 hours. Then there is Chris Cuomo. I really miss him on Good Morning America. He has such a quick witted sense of humor and can also transition to serious issues quite smoothly. I always enjoyed watching his rapport with Sam Champion. He was a great part of that show and his absence is glaringly noticeable. The correct movement of these players seems obvious to me. Good Morning America with lead anchors Robin Roberts and Chris Cuomo. Diane Sawyer to 20/20 where she can let her personality come through at least a little bit. George Stephanopolous' dryness would've been a good fit in the World News Tonight slot. But as they say, hind sight is 20/20. It didn't take long for the error of ABC's decisions to become apparent. I'm not forgetting Juju Chang who took over the GMA news desk; it's just too soon to tell how she will fit into the mix.