David Muir is one of the rising stars in television news. ABC’s World News is proud to feature this brilliant, charismatic and professional journalist, who anchors over the weekend and subs for ABC’s lead anchor Charlie Gibson from time to time. Muir has always done outstanding reporting and is happy to be a part of the ABC team, which is known for his professionalism, solid reporting and non-tabloid style that seems to be invading our homes through the cable news channels. In an exclusive interview with Canyon News, Muir spoke about how he really enjoys ABC and knows that he’s part of a top rate team. “I work for a news organization where Charlie (Gibson) and Diane (Sawyer) are essentially the captains of the team. How lucky I am to be part of that team. They have been very supportive since I arrived in 2003 as the 'young chap' on the overnights.” From a young chap to a polished journalist, Muir future is brighter than any in television news.

 

David Muir. Photo courtesy of ABC World News.

When asked what training he’s had to prepare for this position and what his educational background is, Muir added, “I graduated  from Ithaca College with a degree in Journalism, in addition to studying at the University of Salamanca in Spain. I also studied at Georgetown University as part The Fund for American Studies Institute on Political Journalism.” Muir proves that a solid education, strong mind, good looks and hard work can get you to the top.

 

David Muir. Photo courtesy of ABC World News.

Asked what he’d like to be doing in 2009, Muir stated, “In the news business, the path ahead is so often dictated by the unknown. Who could have imagined we would have witnessed the extraordinary political storyline that unfolded this past year? We watched as the first African-American and the first woman seriously vied for their party’s nomination and then, of course, Barack Obama’s historic win in November.” When asked what he believes the big story will be in 2009, Muir said, “I’m sure we’ll be reporting heavily on the economy in the year ahead, but I’m hopeful it will not be all doom and gloom.” But at least the presenter of the story will be someone we all admire and enjoy seeing on our small screen.

 What most people in this business admire and talk about most is Muir’s ability to transcend any subject, any geographical location or time itself. He’s been seen on shows from morning to the evening news and even primetime programming; many times, all in one day. So Muir explained the challenge of it, “I look at my job as a real hybrid position at ABC News. As a correspondent, as the anchor of 'World News Saturday' and as co-anchor of the newsmagazine Primetime —there is a real range of assignments. From interviewing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards during the campaign, to anchoring 'World News Saturday' from Beijing during President Bush’s visit to the Olympics, to my recent '20/20' hour on false confessions.” Then added, “I find myself switching gears often…which is what I crave.”

 What is it about this profession that makes some people stars and others fade into the wallpaper? That’s a question that many never get an answer. But what most observers and news experts suggest is that it’s a matter of a person’s ability to understand a story, to cover it fully and never tire of wanting to know and report the truth. Muir is no talking head who simply reads a teleprompter and that was proven when, over the summer, he jumped on a plane and headed to China for the Summer 2008 Olympics. Muir laughed and explained it as simply as he could. “Beijing is 12 hours ahead of New York, so our schedule was essentially flipped. We had to report for 'World News' at 6:30 in the morning and we were on the air with 'Good Morning America' at 7 at night. The early morning alarm clock went off for 'World News' for a change. The real challenge we faced in Beijing was in carving enough time to report on the issues outside the Olympic Games. We wanted to travel back to Sichuan Province to report on the aftermath of the earthquake. We knew there remained horrific devastation far from the Olympic spotlight. We traveled to Luoshi to visit a boy who lost both of his hands and much of his arms when his school collapsed on him. He crawled out from beneath the rubble. His father told me when he raced to the school, he found a boy crying for help. He didn’t even recognize it was his son. We were struck by the boy’s resiliency. He demonstrated for our camera his new prosthetic hands that he will one day use to paint. He still has dreams of being an artist.”

 That’s David. Always seeing the positive in every story. Always offering an exception to the rule in his reporting. Non-partisan, very affable, educated, extremely intelligent and did I mention movie star handsome? There should be no doubt why "World News" and ABC are holding on to David Muir, and audiences around the nation are embracing him because of all of these attributes. In a time when the economy is faltering and executives at networks and stations everywhere are looking at the bottom line, the bottom line on Muir is that ABC has the sharpest news hound in the industry.

-