Good Morning America
Encyclopedia
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show
that is broadcast on the ABC
television network
; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now
. Its current one-hour weekend edition debuted in 2004.
The program features news, talk, weather and special-interest stories. The program is produced by the ABC News
division for the network and broadcasts from the Times Square Studios
in Times Square
, New York City
.
The program is hosted by Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos
. Longtime co-anchor Charles Gibson
left the program on June 28, 2006, to become the anchor
of ABC World News
, and Diane Sawyer
left the program on December 11, 2009, to anchor the evening news program after Gibson retired.
GMA has traditionally run second in the ratings to NBC
's Today since 1995, but overtook its rival for a period from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s under the anchor team of Gibson and Joan Lunden
. GMA won the first three Daytime Emmy Award
s for Outstanding Morning Program, sharing the inaugural 2007 award with Today and winning the 2008 and 2009 awards outright.
in an attempt to compete with NBC's Today. ABC's show was hosted by Bill Beutel and Stephanie Edwards
, with Peter Jennings
and Robert Kennedy reading the news. Because the show could not find an audience against Today (and its anchor team of Jim Hartz
and Barbara Walters
), ABC sought a new approach. They found that one of their affiliates, WEWS in Cleveland
, Ohio
, was not broadcasting AM America but instead was airing a locally produced show The Morning Exchange
.
Unlike AM America and Today, The Morning Exchange featured an easygoing and less-dramatic approach by offering news and weather updates only at the top and bottom of every hour and used the rest of the time to discuss general-interest/entertainment topics. The Morning Exchange also established a group of regular guests who were experts in certain fields such as health, entertainment, consumer affairs, travel, etc. Also unlike both the NBC and ABC shows, The Morning Exchange was not broadcast from a newsroom set but instead one that resembled a suburban living room
.
ABC took an episode of The Morning Exchange and used it as a pilot episode
. After rave reviews for the pilot, the format replaced AM America in November 1975 as Good Morning America. GMAs first host was David Hartman
, featuring Nancy Dussault as his co-host. Dussault was replaced in 1977 by Sandy Hill. For the first seven years, the weather was presented by former WLS-TV
Chicago chief meteorologist John Coleman
, who would leave in 1982 to start The Weather Channel. Dave Murray, whose currently the chief meteorologist at KTVI
in St. Louis
, gave the forecasts for both GMA as well as ABC News This Morning from 1983 to 1985. In early 1986, he'd be replaced by Spencer Christian
, who was fill-in meteorologist for both Coleman and Murray whenever they were away on vacation or assignment.
climbed slowly but steadily throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s while Today experienced a slight slump in viewership, especially with Walters's decision to leave NBC for a job at ABC News. On August 30, 1976, Tom Brokaw
began anchoring Today while a search was made for a female co-host. Within a year, Today managed to beat back the GMA ratings threat with Brokaw and new co-host Jane Pauley
, featuring art and entertainment contributor Gene Shalit
.
GMA continued to threaten Today into the 1980s, especially after Brokaw left Today to become NBC Nightly News
co-anchor with Roger Mudd
for seventeen months before being named Nightly Newss sole anchor. For the first time, GMA became the highest-rated morning news program in the United States as Today fell to second place.
At the outset, GMA was a talk program with a main host, Hartman, who was joined by a sidekick co-host; Dussault and Hill were scripted as less-than-equal hosts. In 1980, Hill left GMA and was replaced by Joan Lunden
, then a reporter at ABC's New York City flagship station WABC-TV
. Hartman and Lunden led the show through several years of success. Lunden's popularity led to her promotion to co-anchor. The partnership ended on February 20, 1987, when Hartman retired following 3,189 programs.
After Hartman's retirement, Lunden was paired with ABC News This Morning anchor Charles Gibson on February 23, 1987, and ratings skyrocketed for GMA. They became the most-popular news partnership on television in the late 1980s and early 1990s and, for the first time, GMA regularly won the ratings against Today.
At one time before Spencer Christian
's arrival in 1986, forecasts were provided by meteorologist Jerry Hodak
via a split screen between the WXYZ-TV
studios in Detroit
, where Hodak was chief forecaster, and the GMA set in New York City.
program; Behind Closed Doors would be on the network schedule. On September 5, 1997, Lunden decided to step down after seventeen years on GMA and was replaced by Lisa McRee
. Gibson and McRee did well in the ratings. However, ratings sharply declined when Gibson also left the show to make way for Kevin Newman in 1998. With McRee and Newman as anchors of GMA, long-time viewers switched to Today, whose ratings skyrocketed and have remained at the top spot since the week of December 11, 1995.
Ross, GMA became a competitive 24/7 news operation with more exclusive bookings, west coast updates, new on-screen graphics which included a news ticker and live stock market updates in the west. GMA began originating entire shows from unique locations which, according the Nielsen research, resulted in more people watching and for longer periods of time. GMA became the first
originate a live show from an aircraft carrier during wartime (the U.S.S. Enterprise), from the White House (after the Columbine shootings), from the Pentagon (for the reopening of the wing damaged on 9/11), from the Vatican (for the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II) and from the Tower of London (on the 50th anniversary of the Queen Elizabethʼs accession to the throne.) Viewership
during this time increasing by nearly 1,000,000 households, and income revenue soared. Although the Today Show remained the king of the morning, the Sawyer, Gibson and Ross team inched close. According to Linda McLoof, executive
director of News research at ABC News from 2001 to 2009, “When Shelley left, her viewing momentum was initially sustained, but a season later, the audience began to decline. It is like passing the baton in a relay race.” Antonio Mora
anchored the team until March 18, 2002 when he left to anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago. He was replaced by Robin Roberts
, a former ESPN
anchor.
The show moved from the ABC News headquarters in Lincoln Square to its present home at the Times Square Studios on September 13, 1999. The new location made it possible for the program to feature a live audience outside the studio.
On November 3, 2005, GMA celebrated its thirtieth birthday with recaps to 1975 and by decorating Times Square. Former co-hosts Hartman and Lunden, along with former meteorologist Spencer Christian
were among the guests of honor. Hartman signed off the show that day with his trademark close "From all of us, make it a good day." On that day GMA became the first morning news show to broadcast in HDTV.
On December 2, 2005, weatherman Tony Perkins
left the program; he had been the weather personality since 1999. The last ten minutes of the day's show was dedicated to Perkins, during which he gave thanks to one of the show's producers and a heartfelt goodbye to the three anchors, Gibson, Roberts and Sawyer. Perkins announced that he was going to go home to his family and would be living in Washington, D.C.
, where he would go back to WTTG-TV, where he was previously a weather personality. He affectionately said to his young child on the air, "Connor, if you're watching, daddy's comin' home." Perkins was replaced by Mike Barz
, former morning sports anchor for WGN-TV
in Chicago.
Gibson left GMA on June 28, 2006. The program was dedicated to his nineteen years as its anchor and celebrated his move to the anchor chair at ABC World News. Gibson ended his tenure by stating, "For nineteen years, my mornings have been not just good — they've been great."
as well as remaining as ABC News's senior legal correspondent. Meanwhile, Sam Champion was named GMAs new weather anchor as well as ABC News weather editor. Both Cuomo and Champion began their respective duties on the program September 5, 2006, when GMA instituted a new graphics package, and new news area for Cuomo to report the news. Also, beginning on September 13, 2006, GMA introduced a new logo
— this time with gold font on a blue background. This logo bore a resemblance to the initial GMA logo that was used up to early 1987, and coincided with the show's conversion to HDTV, the first morning show to convert.
On June 29, 2007, movie critic for the show, Joel Siegel
died, at age 63, from complications from colon cancer. The July 9 episode was dedicated to Siegel, with former cast members Hartman, Hill, Lunden, Newman, Christian, Perkins and Gibson all appearing to share their memories.
On July 31, 2007, Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer
, and that she had discovered the lump in a self-examination while preparing the Siegel tribute episode. She remained as anchor while going through chemotherapy
and completed radiation treatments as of March 28, 2008.
On October 22, 2007, GMA introduced its new on-screen appearance. Using much of its old on-screen appearance design features, it went from a basic blue setting to a more orangish-gold setting. GMAs opening changed from the camera zooming in on the hosts while introducing the host, to an opening with new music (by the New York City-based music production company DreamArtists Studios) and a background with the GMA logo falling onto the screen. It also changed its on-screen ticker and bug for the first time in years. The ticker features an orange background with the modified ABC News logo. The bug still featured the time to the left but with an orange back drop with the letters GMA and ABC News.com logo to the right.
On January 15, 2008, during an interview with Sawyer, the actress Diane Keaton
admired Sawyer's beauty, stating that if she had lips like Sawyer's, "then I wouldn't have worked on my fucking personality!" She said that she would also be married by now. Keaton quickly apologized for the remark and Sawyer threatened to have her mother "work on your personality with soap in your mouth." FCC officials declined to take action for the inadvertent expletive. Following the death of Michael Jackson
, Gibson returned to the GMA anchor desk with Roberts on June 26, 2009, while Sawyer was away.
, or World News Saturday anchor David Muir
would serve as Sawyer's replacement. ABC News signaled that it wanted to return the show to the original male-female format. Many sources close to show have stated that the network wanted Stephanopoulos for the position, but that Stephanopoulos still wanted to continue his This Week
duties. Executives at ABC News were worried that if Stephanopoulos got the position, the entire show would have to be reformatted to fit his journalism style. In the weeks before Sawyer announced she was leaving, the momentum shifted to Cuomo getting the position because of his established chemistry with Roberts. On December 10, 2009, it was announced that Stephanopoulos would replace Sawyer and Juju Chang
would replace Cuomo, effective December 14, 2009.
On March 17, 2011, ABC News President Ben Sherwood
announced that former GMA National correspondent Lara Spencer
would be rejoining the show as "Lifestyle" anchor. On March 29, 2011, it was announced that Josh Elliott
would be promoted to news anchor following the departure of Juju Chang
.
In the summer of 2011 GMA decided to vacate the first floor of the Times Square studios because of costs. On August 24, 2011 it was reported that GMA will now be moving it's whole studio to the first floor effective September 6, 2011. On September 6, 2011, GMA unveiled an entirely new set that is on the studios first floor.
As of November 2011, the ratings gap between the two programs continues to narrow, yet the "Today Show" continues to be the number 1 rated morning program in the country.
train
as part of ABC Newss "50 States in 50 Days". The tour's first telecast stop was in Stockbridge
, Massachusetts
.
. The show incorporates features and news from the television edition as well as allows fans to discuss these topics. The radio edition is hosted by Hilarie Barksy and aired Monday through Saturday from 8am to Noon ET
.
Vargas, McFadden and Chung were interim co-anchors in the weeks between McRee and Sawyer.
, Aaron Brown
, John Hockenberry
, Dana King
, Lisa McRee
, Antonio Mora
, Kevin Newman
, and Bill Ritter
.
ABC found that it needed to start a weekend edition of the program after several incidents between 2001 and 2003 where the network was the last to break news because of its commitment to airing the ABC Kids
block on Saturday mornings, the most-serious incident being the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
, where the network had to balance the need of breaking the tragic news with the cartoons and teen sitcoms being aired for a young audience while the news broke and federal E/I
requirements. The network's affiliates were disappointed in ABC News not providing full coverage, and had to depend on feeds from CNN
and APTN News
.
The current version debuted September 4, 2004 with Bill Weir
& Kate Snow
as co-anchors, Ron Claiborne as the news anchor and Marysol Castro
as the weather anchor. Castro also reports on a wide range of subjects from lifestyle trends to breaking news and entertainment. In March 2010, Kate Snow left GMA weekend. Various female personalities of ABC News
filled in as co-anchor following her departure. It was not until two months later in May 2010 that Bianna Golodryga
officially succeeded Snow as the new weekend co-anchor. In August 2010, Bill Weir left GMA weekend for the network’s late-night news program Nightline
. His former seat was officially taken over by Dan Harris in October 2010. A month following Weir’s departure, Marysol Castro left the show. After her departure, meteorologists from various ABC
affiliates across the country step in to give the weather report. It wasn’t until over a year later, in November 2011, that the weather anchor position was filled by Ginger Zee. As of early November 2011, Ron Claiborne is the only original cast member remaining from the inception of the current version of GMA Weekend in 2004.
The start time for the Saturday and Sunday editions of GMA vary between ABC affiliates, though the standard timeslot for the program is the same as its weekday editions at 7 a.m. in all time zones, and most ABC affiliates air the Saturday edition of GMA immediately before the Litton Weekend Adventure block and the Sunday edition before This Week
. Many ABC stations also air a weekend morning newscast immediately after (and in some cases, before) the weekend editions of Good Morning America, this has become fairly common since ABC ceded one hour of its Saturday morning children's program lineup and turned it over to its affiliates in August 2010.
, the Nine Network
, and regional affiliates WIN
and NBN
, air GMA on Tuesday to Fridays from 3.30-5:00am. Friday's edition airs on Saturday mornings from 4.30-6:00am. The Sunday edition airs on Monday mornings from 4:00-5:00am, and the Saturday version is not broadcast. A national weather map of Australia is used during cut-aways to local affiliates for weather information. GMA airs at the same time as NBC's Today on the Seven Network
and Network Ten
's CBS Early Show. It is unchallenged, ratings wise, in some regional areas where other affiliates preempt their networks' US breakfast programs with paid and religious programming.
Orbit Showtime
airs GMA on its America Plus channel from Mondays through Fridays live at 11:00 GMT
/ 1300 CET
in the Middle East
and Europe
.
for "Outstanding TV Journalism Segment" for the segment "Total Transformation: Why Chaz Bono Decided to Change" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
.
1992-1993 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk/Service Show
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
that is broadcast on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now
ABC News Now
ABC News Now is an American 24-hour news channel offered via digital television, broadband and streaming video at ABCNews.com and on mobile phones. It delivers breaking news, headline news each half hour, and wide range of entertainment and lifestyle programs. The channel is currently available in...
. Its current one-hour weekend edition debuted in 2004.
The program features news, talk, weather and special-interest stories. The program is produced by the ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
division for the network and broadcasts from the Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios is an American television studio located in the Times Square neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York...
in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The program is hosted by Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos
George Stephanopoulos
George Robert Stephanopoulos is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.Stephanopoulos is most well known as the chief political correspondent for ABC News – the news division of the broadcast television network ABC – and a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news...
. Longtime co-anchor Charles Gibson
Charles Gibson
Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson is a former American broadcast television anchor and journalist. He was a host of Good Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2006 and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson from 2006 to 2009....
left the program on June 28, 2006, to become the anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
of ABC World News
World News with Charles Gibson
ABC World News is the flagship daily evening program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. Currently, the weekday editions are anchored by Diane Sawyer and the weekend editions are anchored by David Muir. The program has been...
, and Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
left the program on December 11, 2009, to anchor the evening news program after Gibson retired.
GMA has traditionally run second in the ratings to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today since 1995, but overtook its rival for a period from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s under the anchor team of Gibson and Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books...
. GMA won the first three Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
s for Outstanding Morning Program, sharing the inaugural 2007 award with Today and winning the 2008 and 2009 awards outright.
1975: The inaugural year
On January 6, 1975, ABC launched AM AmericaAM America
AM America was a morning news program produced by ABC in an attempt to compete with the highly rated Today on NBC. The show never found an audience after its premiere on January 6, 1975...
in an attempt to compete with NBC's Today. ABC's show was hosted by Bill Beutel and Stephanie Edwards
Stephanie Edwards (TV personality)
Stephanie Ann Edwards is an American actress and television personality.-Career:Born in Kenyon, Minnesota, Edwards began her career as an actress, but became widely known as an on-air personality in the 1970s. She co-hosted ABC-TV's AM America jointly with Bill Beutel, the program was the...
, with Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
and Robert Kennedy reading the news. Because the show could not find an audience against Today (and its anchor team of Jim Hartz
Jim Hartz
Jim Hartz was an American television personality during the mid- and late-1970s. Hartz became best known to a national audience for a two-year stint as the co-host of the Today Show, along with Barbara Walters. Hartz replaced Frank McGee.Hartz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and graduated from Tulsa...
and Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
), ABC sought a new approach. They found that one of their affiliates, WEWS in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, was not broadcasting AM America but instead was airing a locally produced show The Morning Exchange
The Morning Exchange
The Morning Exchange was a daily morning TV show that aired on WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio from 1972 to 1999. The program is widely regarded as one of the most successful local programs in the history of U.S. television. On a typical day in the 1970s, over 2/3 of all TV sets in the Cleveland...
.
Unlike AM America and Today, The Morning Exchange featured an easygoing and less-dramatic approach by offering news and weather updates only at the top and bottom of every hour and used the rest of the time to discuss general-interest/entertainment topics. The Morning Exchange also established a group of regular guests who were experts in certain fields such as health, entertainment, consumer affairs, travel, etc. Also unlike both the NBC and ABC shows, The Morning Exchange was not broadcast from a newsroom set but instead one that resembled a suburban living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
.
ABC took an episode of The Morning Exchange and used it as a pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
. After rave reviews for the pilot, the format replaced AM America in November 1975 as Good Morning America. GMAs first host was David Hartman
David Hartman (TV personality)
David Downs Hartman is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He currently anchors and hosts documentary programs on cable TV's History and on PBS. Hartman is best known as the first host of ABC's Good Morning America, from 1975 to 1987. As an actor, he...
, featuring Nancy Dussault as his co-host. Dussault was replaced in 1977 by Sandy Hill. For the first seven years, the weather was presented by former WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
Chicago chief meteorologist John Coleman
John Coleman (meteorologist)
John Coleman is an American TV weatherman noted, along with entrepreneur Frank Batten, for founding The Weather Channel. He presently works as an on-camera weather caster at KUSI-TV in San Diego but is no longer affiliated with The Weather Channel....
, who would leave in 1982 to start The Weather Channel. Dave Murray, whose currently the chief meteorologist at KTVI
KTVI
KTVI, virtual channel 2, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the St. Louis, Missouri, designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, under a local marketing agreement with Tribune-owned CW affiliate KPLR...
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, gave the forecasts for both GMA as well as ABC News This Morning from 1983 to 1985. In early 1986, he'd be replaced by Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's...
, who was fill-in meteorologist for both Coleman and Murray whenever they were away on vacation or assignment.
1976–1989: Growth and change
The program's ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
climbed slowly but steadily throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s while Today experienced a slight slump in viewership, especially with Walters's decision to leave NBC for a job at ABC News. On August 30, 1976, Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
began anchoring Today while a search was made for a female co-host. Within a year, Today managed to beat back the GMA ratings threat with Brokaw and new co-host Jane Pauley
Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley is an American television journalist, and has been involved in news reporting since 1975...
, featuring art and entertainment contributor Gene Shalit
Gene Shalit
Gene Shalit is a film and book critic. He has filled these roles on NBC's The Today Show since January 15, 1973. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties.-Career:...
.
GMA continued to threaten Today into the 1980s, especially after Brokaw left Today to become NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
co-anchor with Roger Mudd
Roger Mudd
Roger Mudd is a U.S. television journalist and broadcaster, most recently as the primary anchor for The History Channel. Previously, Mudd was weekend and weekday substitute anchor of CBS Evening News, co-anchor of the weekday NBC Nightly News, and hosted NBC's Meet the Press, and NBC's American...
for seventeen months before being named Nightly Newss sole anchor. For the first time, GMA became the highest-rated morning news program in the United States as Today fell to second place.
At the outset, GMA was a talk program with a main host, Hartman, who was joined by a sidekick co-host; Dussault and Hill were scripted as less-than-equal hosts. In 1980, Hill left GMA and was replaced by Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books...
, then a reporter at ABC's New York City flagship station WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
. Hartman and Lunden led the show through several years of success. Lunden's popularity led to her promotion to co-anchor. The partnership ended on February 20, 1987, when Hartman retired following 3,189 programs.
After Hartman's retirement, Lunden was paired with ABC News This Morning anchor Charles Gibson on February 23, 1987, and ratings skyrocketed for GMA. They became the most-popular news partnership on television in the late 1980s and early 1990s and, for the first time, GMA regularly won the ratings against Today.
At one time before Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's...
's arrival in 1986, forecasts were provided by meteorologist Jerry Hodak
Jerry Hodak
Jerry Hodak is the former Chief Meteorologist on ABC's Detroit affiliate, WXYZ-TV. Hodak studied mass communications at Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Michigan. After traveling to Orlando, Florida as a news reporter for WDBO-TV, Hodak returned to Detroit in 1967 as a weather caster...
via a split screen between the WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
studios in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, where Hodak was chief forecaster, and the GMA set in New York City.
1990–1998: Rise and decline
Good Morning America entered the 1990s with its overwhelming ratings success. Gibson and Lunden were a hard team to beat. But GMA stumbled from its top spot in late 1995. Lunden began to discuss working less, and mentioned to network executives that the morning schedule is the hardest in the business. ABC executives promised Lunden a prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
program; Behind Closed Doors would be on the network schedule. On September 5, 1997, Lunden decided to step down after seventeen years on GMA and was replaced by Lisa McRee
Lisa McRee
Lisa McRee is an American television journalist and former news anchor, born in Fort Worth, Texas.She was a news anchor for WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, from 1989 to 1991 before becoming one of the original anchors, along with Aaron Brown, of ABC News' World News Now when the show launched in 1992...
. Gibson and McRee did well in the ratings. However, ratings sharply declined when Gibson also left the show to make way for Kevin Newman in 1998. With McRee and Newman as anchors of GMA, long-time viewers switched to Today, whose ratings skyrocketed and have remained at the top spot since the week of December 11, 1995.
January 1999–May 2005: The Gibson–Sawyer period
To revive GMA, which in January 1999 briefly fell to third place among the morning shows, ABC News management selected Shelley Ross from the field of executive producer candidates. As part of Rossʼ proposed changes, Ross lobbied to bring in Diane Sawyer and team her with Charles Gibson, who had been reluctant to return. On January 18, 1999, Ross launched the Gibson-Sawyer team on the air which, during the first full season, had a dramatic increase in viewers while all other network news franchises saw losses. UnderRoss, GMA became a competitive 24/7 news operation with more exclusive bookings, west coast updates, new on-screen graphics which included a news ticker and live stock market updates in the west. GMA began originating entire shows from unique locations which, according the Nielsen research, resulted in more people watching and for longer periods of time. GMA became the first
originate a live show from an aircraft carrier during wartime (the U.S.S. Enterprise), from the White House (after the Columbine shootings), from the Pentagon (for the reopening of the wing damaged on 9/11), from the Vatican (for the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II) and from the Tower of London (on the 50th anniversary of the Queen Elizabethʼs accession to the throne.) Viewership
during this time increasing by nearly 1,000,000 households, and income revenue soared. Although the Today Show remained the king of the morning, the Sawyer, Gibson and Ross team inched close. According to Linda McLoof, executive
director of News research at ABC News from 2001 to 2009, “When Shelley left, her viewing momentum was initially sustained, but a season later, the audience began to decline. It is like passing the baton in a relay race.” Antonio Mora
Antonio Mora
Antonio Mora has been a news anchor at WFOR-TV in Miami since 2008. Before that, he served as an anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 2002 to mid-January 2008. Prior to joining WBBM, he worked at ABC, where he was the news anchor for Good Morning America. He was the original anchor for Good Day L.A....
anchored the team until March 18, 2002 when he left to anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago. He was replaced by Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts (newscaster)
Robin René Roberts is an American television broadcaster. Roberts is the co-anchor of ABC's morning show Good Morning America-Early life:...
, a former ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
anchor.
The show moved from the ABC News headquarters in Lincoln Square to its present home at the Times Square Studios on September 13, 1999. The new location made it possible for the program to feature a live audience outside the studio.
May 2005–June 2006: The Gibson–Roberts–Sawyer period
On May 23, 2005, ABC News announced that Roberts, the show's news anchor, would be promoted to co-anchor. Previously, she had been regularly substituting for Gibson and Sawyer.On November 3, 2005, GMA celebrated its thirtieth birthday with recaps to 1975 and by decorating Times Square. Former co-hosts Hartman and Lunden, along with former meteorologist Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's...
were among the guests of honor. Hartman signed off the show that day with his trademark close "From all of us, make it a good day." On that day GMA became the first morning news show to broadcast in HDTV.
On December 2, 2005, weatherman Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins (television meteorologist)
Tony Perkins is an American weather broadcaster best known for his work on ABC's Good Morning America from 1999 to 2005. He currently is the weekday morning weatherman for WTTG in Washington, DC....
left the program; he had been the weather personality since 1999. The last ten minutes of the day's show was dedicated to Perkins, during which he gave thanks to one of the show's producers and a heartfelt goodbye to the three anchors, Gibson, Roberts and Sawyer. Perkins announced that he was going to go home to his family and would be living in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he would go back to WTTG-TV, where he was previously a weather personality. He affectionately said to his young child on the air, "Connor, if you're watching, daddy's comin' home." Perkins was replaced by Mike Barz
Mike Barz
Mike Barz is an American broadcaster and weekday morning news anchor at WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a morning news anchor at WFLD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2009....
, former morning sports anchor for WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago.
Gibson left GMA on June 28, 2006. The program was dedicated to his nineteen years as its anchor and celebrated his move to the anchor chair at ABC World News. Gibson ended his tenure by stating, "For nineteen years, my mornings have been not just good — they've been great."
June 2006–December 2009: The Sawyer–Roberts period
There had been speculation that Sawyer would leave GMA when her contract expired in 2007 because she was coveting the ABC World News anchor job which was given to Gibson. In August 2006, Chris Cuomo was named news anchor. He has since continued his anchoring duties on ABC News's PrimetimePrimetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
as well as remaining as ABC News's senior legal correspondent. Meanwhile, Sam Champion was named GMAs new weather anchor as well as ABC News weather editor. Both Cuomo and Champion began their respective duties on the program September 5, 2006, when GMA instituted a new graphics package, and new news area for Cuomo to report the news. Also, beginning on September 13, 2006, GMA introduced a new logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
— this time with gold font on a blue background. This logo bore a resemblance to the initial GMA logo that was used up to early 1987, and coincided with the show's conversion to HDTV, the first morning show to convert.
On June 29, 2007, movie critic for the show, Joel Siegel
Joel Siegel
Joel Siegel was an American film critic for the ABC morning news show Good Morning America for over 25 years. Born to a Jewish family of Romanian descent, and raised in Los Angeles, California, he graduated cum laude from UCLA. His Romanian-born grandmother from Botoşani survived the Triangle...
died, at age 63, from complications from colon cancer. The July 9 episode was dedicated to Siegel, with former cast members Hartman, Hill, Lunden, Newman, Christian, Perkins and Gibson all appearing to share their memories.
On July 31, 2007, Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, and that she had discovered the lump in a self-examination while preparing the Siegel tribute episode. She remained as anchor while going through chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and completed radiation treatments as of March 28, 2008.
On January 15, 2008, during an interview with Sawyer, the actress Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
admired Sawyer's beauty, stating that if she had lips like Sawyer's, "then I wouldn't have worked on my fucking personality!" She said that she would also be married by now. Keaton quickly apologized for the remark and Sawyer threatened to have her mother "work on your personality with soap in your mouth." FCC officials declined to take action for the inadvertent expletive. Following the death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Gibson returned to the GMA anchor desk with Roberts on June 26, 2009, while Sawyer was away.
December 2009 to present: The Roberts-Stephanopoulos period
On September 2, 2009, ABC announced that Gibson would step down as anchor of ABC World News at the end of 2009 with Sawyer being named as his successor. Speculation had been swirling that either Stephanopoulos, news anchor Chris Cuomo, weekend anchor Bill WeirBill Weir
William Francis Weir is an American television journalist and co-anchor of Nightline on ABC. Before Nightline, he was a co-host of the weekend edition of Good Morning America from 2004 to 2010.-Career:...
, or World News Saturday anchor David Muir
David Muir
David Muir is an American journalist and anchor for ABC News, the news division of the ABC broadcast-television network based in New York City, New York.-Early life and education:...
would serve as Sawyer's replacement. ABC News signaled that it wanted to return the show to the original male-female format. Many sources close to show have stated that the network wanted Stephanopoulos for the position, but that Stephanopoulos still wanted to continue his This Week
This Week (ABC TV series)
This Week is ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program.The Sunday morning talk show has aired on Sunday mornings on ABC since 1981; the program is initially aired at 9:00 AM ET, although many stations air the program later, especially those in other time zones...
duties. Executives at ABC News were worried that if Stephanopoulos got the position, the entire show would have to be reformatted to fit his journalism style. In the weeks before Sawyer announced she was leaving, the momentum shifted to Cuomo getting the position because of his established chemistry with Roberts. On December 10, 2009, it was announced that Stephanopoulos would replace Sawyer and Juju Chang
JuJu Chang
Hyunju "Juju" Chang is a Korean-American Emmy Award-winning television journalist for ABC News, and currently serves as a special correspondent and fill-in anchor for Nightline...
would replace Cuomo, effective December 14, 2009.
On March 17, 2011, ABC News President Ben Sherwood
Ben Sherwood
- Early life and education :Ben Sherwood was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1981, he graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. In 1986, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College with an AB degree...
announced that former GMA National correspondent Lara Spencer
Lara Spencer
Lara Spencer is the lifestyle anchor for Good Morning America. She is also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News. Previously, she was the host of the syndicated television newsmagazine The Insider and was a regular contributor to CBS's The Early Show...
would be rejoining the show as "Lifestyle" anchor. On March 29, 2011, it was announced that Josh Elliott
Josh Elliott
Josh Elliott is a television journalist who is the news anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. Previously, he was co-anchor for the live telecast of ESPN's SportsCenter from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET with Hannah Storm or Sage Steele...
would be promoted to news anchor following the departure of Juju Chang
JuJu Chang
Hyunju "Juju" Chang is a Korean-American Emmy Award-winning television journalist for ABC News, and currently serves as a special correspondent and fill-in anchor for Nightline...
.
In the summer of 2011 GMA decided to vacate the first floor of the Times Square studios because of costs. On August 24, 2011 it was reported that GMA will now be moving it's whole studio to the first floor effective September 6, 2011. On September 6, 2011, GMA unveiled an entirely new set that is on the studios first floor.
Ratings
As of June 2011, Good Morning America began attaining some of its highest ratings in years, but remains behind NBC's "Today Show" by a substantial margin.As of November 2011, the ratings gap between the two programs continues to narrow, yet the "Today Show" continues to be the number 1 rated morning program in the country.
Whistle-stop tour 2008
Beginning September 2008, the GMA's anchors rode an AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
as part of ABC Newss "50 States in 50 Days". The tour's first telecast stop was in Stockbridge
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Good Morning America Radio (2006–2009)
In January 2006, GMA launched a radio edition of the program on XM Radio's Take FiveTake Five (XM)
Take Five was the name of XM Satellite Radio's women's talk & entertainment. It was launched in the Fall of 2005 as XM's attempt to reach out to potential female subscribers. It heavily touted itself as the home of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tyra Banks Show's audio simulcasts...
. The show incorporates features and news from the television edition as well as allows fans to discuss these topics. The radio edition is hosted by Hilarie Barksy and aired Monday through Saturday from 8am to Noon ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
.
Anchors
- Robin RobertsRobin Roberts (newscaster)Robin René Roberts is an American television broadcaster. Roberts is the co-anchor of ABC's morning show Good Morning America-Early life:...
, anchor (2005–present) - George StephanopoulosGeorge StephanopoulosGeorge Robert Stephanopoulos is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.Stephanopoulos is most well known as the chief political correspondent for ABC News – the news division of the broadcast television network ABC – and a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news...
, anchor (2009–present) - Josh ElliottJosh ElliottJosh Elliott is a television journalist who is the news anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. Previously, he was co-anchor for the live telecast of ESPN's SportsCenter from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET with Hannah Storm or Sage Steele...
, news anchor (2011–present) - Sam ChampionSam ChampionSamuel James Champion is the weather anchor of ABC's Good Morning America and weather editor of ABC News.-Early life and education:...
, weather anchor (2006–present) - Lara SpencerLara SpencerLara Spencer is the lifestyle anchor for Good Morning America. She is also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News. Previously, she was the host of the syndicated television newsmagazine The Insider and was a regular contributor to CBS's The Early Show...
, lifestyle anchor (2011–present)
Contributors and correspondents
- Hilarie Barksy (radio edition – since 2006)
- Glenn BeckGlenn BeckGlenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
(since 2007) - Marty Becker (since 1997), veterinarian
- Richard Besser (since 2009), senior medical and health editor
- Abbie BoudreauAbbie BoudreauAbbie Boudreau is an ABC correspondent in Los Angeles. She joined on November 10, 2010. She was formerly with CNN. She has received seven regional Emmys for investigative reporting, writing and enterprise journalism.-Early career:...
(since 2010) - Mellody HobsonMellody HobsonMellody Hobson is the president of Ariel Investments, LLC, a Chicago investment firm managing over $3 billion in assets. It is also one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the United States. She is also the Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of...
(since 2006), financial contributor - Dr. Tim Johnson (since 1975), medical correspondent
- Tory JohnsonTory JohnsonTory Johnson is an American author and life coach who educates viewers on a wide range of job-related issues and challenges as the Good Morning America workplace contributor and as a business and career coach at AOL Coaches....
(since 2007), workplace contributor - Elisabeth Leamy (since 2005), Consumer Correspondent
- Emeril LagasseEmeril Lagasse'Emeril John Lagasse is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril as well as catchphrases such as “Kick it up a notch!” and...
(since 2006), food contributor - Cameron MathisonCameron MathisonCameron Arthur Mathison is a Canadian actor and television host, perhaps best known for his role as Ryan Lavery on the ABC soap opera All My Children — a role which he has played from December 15, 1997 to 2002, and from 2003 to 2011...
(since 2009), correspondent - Sara MoultonSara MoultonSara Moulton is an American chef, cookbook author and television personality.Moulton is a food editor for Good Morning America, a morning news and talk show broadcast on the ABC television network...
(since 2006), food contributor - David MuirDavid MuirDavid Muir is an American journalist and anchor for ABC News, the news division of the ABC broadcast-television network based in New York City, New York.-Early life and education:...
(since 2006), correspondent - Wolfgang PuckWolfgang PuckWolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
(since 2006), food contributor - Melissa RycroftMelissa RycroftMelissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland , from Dallas, Texas, is a reality television contestant and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She was a drill team officer at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas where she graduated in 2001...
(since 2009), correspondent - Claire ShipmanClaire ShipmanClaire Shipman is an American television journalist, currently the senior national correspondent for the ABC program, Good Morning America. She also blogs at the website True/Slant. She is married to Jay Carney, President Barack Obama's White House Press Secretary.- Career :Shipman's broadcast...
(since 2006), senior national correspondent - Becky WorleyBecky WorleyBecky Worley is an American journalist and broadcaster. She is the tech contributor for Good Morning America on ABC, host and blogger for a web show on Yahoo! Tech.-Personal life:...
(since 2005), technology editor
Anchors
- David HartmanDavid Hartman (TV personality)David Downs Hartman is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He currently anchors and hosts documentary programs on cable TV's History and on PBS. Hartman is best known as the first host of ABC's Good Morning America, from 1975 to 1987. As an actor, he...
, anchor (1975–1987) - Nancy Dussault, anchor (1975–1977)
- Sandy Hill, anchor (1977–1980)
- Joan LundenJoan LundenJoan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books...
, anchor (1980–1997) - Charles GibsonCharles GibsonCharles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson is a former American broadcast television anchor and journalist. He was a host of Good Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2006 and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson from 2006 to 2009....
, anchor (1987–1998) and (1999–2006) - Lisa McReeLisa McReeLisa McRee is an American television journalist and former news anchor, born in Fort Worth, Texas.She was a news anchor for WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, from 1989 to 1991 before becoming one of the original anchors, along with Aaron Brown, of ABC News' World News Now when the show launched in 1992...
, anchor (1997–1999) - Kevin Newman, anchor (1998–1999)
- Elizabeth VargasElizabeth VargasElizabeth Vargas is an American television journalist who is anchor of ABC's television newsmagazine 20/20 and ABC News Specials. She was previously an anchor of World News Tonight.-Early years:...
, anchor (1999) - Cynthia McFaddenCynthia McFaddenCynthia McFadden is an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who currently co-anchors Nightline and Primetime.-Education:...
, anchor (1999) - Connie ChungConnie ChungConnie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
, anchor (1999) - Diane SawyerDiane SawyerLila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
, anchor (1999–2009)
Vargas, McFadden and Chung were interim co-anchors in the weeks between McRee and Sawyer.
News anchors
- Steve BellSteve Bell (anchorman)Steve Bell is the former news anchor of ABC News programs "Good Morning America" and "World News This Morning", and professor emeritus of telecommunications at Muncie's Ball State University....
, news anchor (1975–1985) - Kathleen SullivanKathleen Sullivan (journalist)Kathleen Sullivan is an American television journalist.She was one of a small group of anchors and reporters which launched CNN, a cable news channel, which led to the 24-hour news cycle of the U.S. cable news broadcast within the field of journalism. Her career has been involved in nearly every...
, news anchor (1985–1987) - Jed Duvall, news anchor (1987–1988)
- Paula Zahn, news anchor (fill-in, 1987–1990)
- Forrest SawyerForrest SawyerForrest Sawyer is an American broadcast journalist. Sawyer worked 11 years with ABC News, where he frequently anchored ABC World News Tonight and Nightline and reported for all ABC News broadcasts...
, news anchor (1988–1989) - Mike Schneider, news anchor (1989–1993)
- Aaron BrownAaron BrownAaron Brown is an American broadcast journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks, his first day on air at CNN...
, news anchor (fill-in, 1992–1993) - Morton DeanMorton DeanMorton Dean is an American television news journalist who has worked for CBS News and ABC News since the mid-1960s....
, news anchor (1993–1996) - Elizabeth VargasElizabeth VargasElizabeth Vargas is an American television journalist who is anchor of ABC's television newsmagazine 20/20 and ABC News Specials. She was previously an anchor of World News Tonight.-Early years:...
, news anchor (1996–1997) - Kevin Newman, news anchor (1997–1998)
- Antonio MoraAntonio MoraAntonio Mora has been a news anchor at WFOR-TV in Miami since 2008. Before that, he served as an anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 2002 to mid-January 2008. Prior to joining WBBM, he worked at ABC, where he was the news anchor for Good Morning America. He was the original anchor for Good Day L.A....
, news anchor (1998–2002) - Robin RobertsRobin Roberts (newscaster)Robin René Roberts is an American television broadcaster. Roberts is the co-anchor of ABC's morning show Good Morning America-Early life:...
, news anchor (2002–2005) - Chris Cuomo, news anchor (2006–2009)
- Juju ChangJuJu ChangHyunju "Juju" Chang is a Korean-American Emmy Award-winning television journalist for ABC News, and currently serves as a special correspondent and fill-in anchor for Nightline...
, news anchor (2009–2011)
Weather anchors
- John ColemanJohn ColemanJohn Douglas Coleman was an Australian rules footballer and coach for Essendon in the Victorian Football League ....
, weather anchor (1975–1982) - Dave Murray, weather anchor (1983–1985)
- Spencer ChristianSpencer ChristianSpencer Christian is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's...
, weather anchor (1986–1998) - Tony Perkins, weather anchor (1999–2005)
- Mike BarzMike BarzMike Barz is an American broadcaster and weekday morning news anchor at WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a morning news anchor at WFLD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2009....
, weather anchor (2005–2006)
Weekend editions
The first weekend edition of GMA aired on Sundays only from January 3, 1993, to February 28, 1999, hosted by Willow BayWillow Bay
Willow Bay is an American television correspondent, editor, author, former model, and wife of Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger. She is currently a Senior Editor for the Huffington Post and a special correspondent for Bloomberg Television.-Career:Bay was born Kristine Carlin Bay in New York, New...
, Aaron Brown
Aaron Brown
Aaron Brown is an American broadcast journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks, his first day on air at CNN...
, John Hockenberry
John Hockenberry
John Charles Hockenberry is an American journalist and author. A four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award winner, Hockenberry has worked in media since 1980....
, Dana King
Dana King
Dana King, born in Cleveland, is an Emmy Award-winning American broadcast journalist currently serving as anchor for San Francisco CBS Affiliate KPIX....
, Lisa McRee
Lisa McRee
Lisa McRee is an American television journalist and former news anchor, born in Fort Worth, Texas.She was a news anchor for WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, from 1989 to 1991 before becoming one of the original anchors, along with Aaron Brown, of ABC News' World News Now when the show launched in 1992...
, Antonio Mora
Antonio Mora
Antonio Mora has been a news anchor at WFOR-TV in Miami since 2008. Before that, he served as an anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 2002 to mid-January 2008. Prior to joining WBBM, he worked at ABC, where he was the news anchor for Good Morning America. He was the original anchor for Good Day L.A....
, Kevin Newman
Kevin Newman (Canadian journalist)
Kevin Newman is a Canadian journalist and news anchor. From 2001 to 2010, he was the anchor and executive editor of Global National, and hosted Global's weekly newsmagazine series Global Currents. In August 2011 he became the co-host of CTV's Question Period..- Life and career :Newman was born in...
, and Bill Ritter
Bill Ritter (news anchor)
Bill Ritter is an American television news anchor and journalist. Bill Ritter was named co-anchor of Eyewitness News at 6 p.m. in February 2001. Ritter, who has been the co-anchor of the 11 p.m. news since September 1999, is also a correspondent for the ABC News program 20/20...
.
ABC found that it needed to start a weekend edition of the program after several incidents between 2001 and 2003 where the network was the last to break news because of its commitment to airing the ABC Kids
ABC Kids (United States)
ABC Kids was a children's block of animated television series and live-action children's television series. broadcast on the ABC network on Saturday–Sunday mornings in the U.S. and was broadcast on BBS/CTV in Canada until 2002...
block on Saturday mornings, the most-serious incident being the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
, where the network had to balance the need of breaking the tragic news with the cartoons and teen sitcoms being aired for a young audience while the news broke and federal E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
requirements. The network's affiliates were disappointed in ABC News not providing full coverage, and had to depend on feeds from CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and APTN News
Associated Press Television News
Associated Press Television News, abbreviated as either AP Television News or APTN, is a global video news agency.-About:AP Television News is the video division of the Associated Press. It provides many of the world's broadcasters with a round-the-clock continuous feed of news, sports,...
.
The current version debuted September 4, 2004 with Bill Weir
Bill Weir
William Francis Weir is an American television journalist and co-anchor of Nightline on ABC. Before Nightline, he was a co-host of the weekend edition of Good Morning America from 2004 to 2010.-Career:...
& Kate Snow
Kate Snow
Kate Snow is an American television journalist and correspondent for NBC's newsmagazine Dateline. In addition, she has also filled in as anchor for Nightly News. Prior to joining NBC, she was a co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010...
as co-anchors, Ron Claiborne as the news anchor and Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro is a television journalist and was weather anchor for the The Early Show on CBS in 2011. Prior to that, she was the weather and features correspondent for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010.-Early life and career:Born to Puerto Rican parents in New...
as the weather anchor. Castro also reports on a wide range of subjects from lifestyle trends to breaking news and entertainment. In March 2010, Kate Snow left GMA weekend. Various female personalities of ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
filled in as co-anchor following her departure. It was not until two months later in May 2010 that Bianna Golodryga
Bianna Golodryga
Bianna Golodryga is an American television journalist and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. Her family moved to Houston, Texas when she was about two years old....
officially succeeded Snow as the new weekend co-anchor. In August 2010, Bill Weir left GMA weekend for the network’s late-night news program Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
. His former seat was officially taken over by Dan Harris in October 2010. A month following Weir’s departure, Marysol Castro left the show. After her departure, meteorologists from various ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliates across the country step in to give the weather report. It wasn’t until over a year later, in November 2011, that the weather anchor position was filled by Ginger Zee. As of early November 2011, Ron Claiborne is the only original cast member remaining from the inception of the current version of GMA Weekend in 2004.
The start time for the Saturday and Sunday editions of GMA vary between ABC affiliates, though the standard timeslot for the program is the same as its weekday editions at 7 a.m. in all time zones, and most ABC affiliates air the Saturday edition of GMA immediately before the Litton Weekend Adventure block and the Sunday edition before This Week
This Week (ABC TV series)
This Week is ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program.The Sunday morning talk show has aired on Sunday mornings on ABC since 1981; the program is initially aired at 9:00 AM ET, although many stations air the program later, especially those in other time zones...
. Many ABC stations also air a weekend morning newscast immediately after (and in some cases, before) the weekend editions of Good Morning America, this has become fairly common since ABC ceded one hour of its Saturday morning children's program lineup and turned it over to its affiliates in August 2010.
Anchors
- Bianna GolodrygaBianna GolodrygaBianna Golodryga is an American television journalist and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. Her family moved to Houston, Texas when she was about two years old....
, weekend anchor (2010–present) - Dan Harris, weekend anchor (2010–present)
- Ron Claiborne, weekend news anchor (2004–present)
- Ginger Zee, weekend weather anchor (2011–present)
Anchors
- Willow BayWillow BayWillow Bay is an American television correspondent, editor, author, former model, and wife of Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger. She is currently a Senior Editor for the Huffington Post and a special correspondent for Bloomberg Television.-Career:Bay was born Kristine Carlin Bay in New York, New...
, weekend anchor (1994–1998) - Bill RitterBill Ritter (news anchor)Bill Ritter is an American television news anchor and journalist. Bill Ritter was named co-anchor of Eyewitness News at 6 p.m. in February 2001. Ritter, who has been the co-anchor of the 11 p.m. news since September 1999, is also a correspondent for the ABC News program 20/20...
, weekend anchor (1993–1994,1997–1998) - Lisa McReeLisa McReeLisa McRee is an American television journalist and former news anchor, born in Fort Worth, Texas.She was a news anchor for WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, from 1989 to 1991 before becoming one of the original anchors, along with Aaron Brown, of ABC News' World News Now when the show launched in 1992...
, weekend anchor (1993–1994) - Dana KingDana KingDana King, born in Cleveland, is an Emmy Award-winning American broadcast journalist currently serving as anchor for San Francisco CBS Affiliate KPIX....
, weekend anchor (1993) - Antonio MoraAntonio MoraAntonio Mora has been a news anchor at WFOR-TV in Miami since 2008. Before that, he served as an anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 2002 to mid-January 2008. Prior to joining WBBM, he worked at ABC, where he was the news anchor for Good Morning America. He was the original anchor for Good Day L.A....
, weekend anchor (1994–1995) - John HockenberryJohn HockenberryJohn Charles Hockenberry is an American journalist and author. A four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award winner, Hockenberry has worked in media since 1980....
, weekend anchor (1995–1996) - Kevin NewmanKevin Newman (Canadian journalist)Kevin Newman is a Canadian journalist and news anchor. From 2001 to 2010, he was the anchor and executive editor of Global National, and hosted Global's weekly newsmagazine series Global Currents. In August 2011 he became the co-host of CTV's Question Period..- Life and career :Newman was born in...
, weekend anchor (1996–1997) - Aaron BrownAaron BrownAaron Brown is an American broadcast journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks, his first day on air at CNN...
, weekend anchor (1998–1999) - Bill WeirBill WeirWilliam Francis Weir is an American television journalist and co-anchor of Nightline on ABC. Before Nightline, he was a co-host of the weekend edition of Good Morning America from 2004 to 2010.-Career:...
, weekend anchor (2004–2010) - Kate SnowKate SnowKate Snow is an American television journalist and correspondent for NBC's newsmagazine Dateline. In addition, she has also filled in as anchor for Nightly News. Prior to joining NBC, she was a co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010...
, weekend anchor (2004–2010)
International broadcasts
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, and regional affiliates WIN
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
and NBN
NBN Television
NBN Television is a television station based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The station was inaugurated on 4 March 1962 as the first regional commercial television station in New South Wales, and has since expanded to 39 transmitters throughout the northern half of New South Wales and...
, air GMA on Tuesday to Fridays from 3.30-5:00am. Friday's edition airs on Saturday mornings from 4.30-6:00am. The Sunday edition airs on Monday mornings from 4:00-5:00am, and the Saturday version is not broadcast. A national weather map of Australia is used during cut-aways to local affiliates for weather information. GMA airs at the same time as NBC's Today on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's CBS Early Show. It is unchallenged, ratings wise, in some regional areas where other affiliates preempt their networks' US breakfast programs with paid and religious programming.
Orbit Showtime
Orbit Showtime
Orbit Showtime Network, now officially branded as OSN, is a subscription television service in the Middle East and North Africa. The platform is owned by Panther Media Group, and the company is registered in DIFC. OSN is a joint venture between the Kuwait-based KIPCO and Saudi Arabia-based Mawarid...
airs GMA on its America Plus channel from Mondays through Fridays live at 11:00 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
/ 1300 CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Awards
In 2010, Good Morning America was nominated for a GLAAD Media AwardGLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for "Outstanding TV Journalism Segment" for the segment "Total Transformation: Why Chaz Bono Decided to Change" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
21st GLAAD Media Awards
The 21st GLAAD Media Awards was the 2010 annual presentation of the media awards presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The awards seek to honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly and accurately represent the LGBT community and issues...
.
1992-1993 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk/Service Show
See also
- ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
- Breakfast televisionBreakfast televisionBreakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
- Good Morning America Weekend Edition
- List of years in television
External links
- http://gma.yahoo.com/, official website
- GMA Viewers Blog And Forum