Diane Sawyer to Replace Charles Gibson on ABC’s ‘World News’*

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‘ABC World News’ anchor Charles Gibson announced this morning that he will retire at the end of the year, and the network said ‘Good Morning America’ host Diane Sawyer will become the newscast’s anchor starting in January.

Gibson, who has been the evening news anchor since May 2006, said in an e-mail to the ‘World News’ staff that his stepping down ‘was not an easy decision to make. This has been my professional home for almost 35 years. And I love this news department, and all who work in it, to the depths of my soul.’

ABC News President David Westin said that he and Gibson had been discussing the anchor’s decision for several weeks, and that Gibson ‘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.’

[UPDATED] You can find a fuller account of the news in another post by my colleague, Matea Gold.]

--- Greg Braxton