Charlie Gibson: Can Diane Sawyer Keep Viewers After 'Buzz' And 'Attention' Fade?

Charlie Gibson is going out with a bang — and is already casting doubts as to whether Diane Sawyer will succeed as his replacement.

As Gibson kicks off his final week anchoring ABC's "World News," the network has announced that he will sit-down with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.

Gibson and Obama will "discuss a wide range of issues, including Afghanistan, the economy, and the President's reflections on his first year in office," the network said.

But what happens after he leaves? Gibson told the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz that Sawyer will "bring a buzz and an attention to this program that I could not," but he questions whether that will be enough to sustain an audience.

"That will bring a lot of people in the tent," he added. "But do you keep them?"

Gibson has been rumored to be disappointed with the selection of his former "GMA" co-host as his replacement.

Gibson also told Kurtz that the timing was right for him to call it quits.

"I'm whipped on a Friday night," Gibson told Kurtz. "I'm not as sharp as I once was, and I don't want to stay too long. . . . It's good to leave when your elevator is up on a high floor and not on a low floor."

Gibson also hinted that he sees less of a place for his style of broadcasting in a changing media landscape.

"Objectivity -- or the extent to which we strive for objectivity -- is less of a marketable commodity," he said. "People seem to want to hear news presented according to their own beliefs, and I don't understand that. I'm so much of a traditional, over-the-air broadcaster. I'm aware that it's changing, and I'm not adapting fast enough with it. Having hit the perfect arc of this business, I think it's time to move on."

Comments

[NimbleBean]

07:04 PM on 12/23/2009

I watched Mr. Brokaw every night, and started out with Brian Williams, but he has become so smug and self-satisfied that it is difficult to watch. Mr. Gibson always projected that he felt he was the smartest guy in the room. It seems that Ms. Sawyer has been reading too much of her own press as well. And she is certainly no journalist! I didn't really think Ms. Couric was right for the job when she stepped up, but turns out that she's quite good.

[lemondade]

01:32 AM on 12/17/2009

ALL DIANE HAS TO DO IN THIS AGE OF THE MEDIA IS TO SAY SHE ALSO SLEPT WITH TIGER WOODS.

[reasonshouldrule]

09:12 PM on 12/16/2009

Charlie has had no class for years. If anyone recalls, he insisted on being the ONLY host of World News, refusing to consider working with anyone else. I think he's a sexist--he made underhanded complaints about Diane when he worked with her at GMA, and now she's going to have his spot and he's miffed.

BTW, it's pretty amusing that he thinks his elevator was at the top. Many people would argue it never got there in the first place.

[MarsAmbassador]

03:42 PM on 12/16/2009

Pompous blustery newsmen. You sit there and read off a teleprompter. You're not saving lives, you're not making the news, you're only reading it. Heck, you don't even have to memorize any lines, you just sit in a chair, strike a tone and read words off a box. Wow. Such greatness to be missed. *scoff*

[BambooHarvester]

09:06 PM on 12/15/2009

$TFU ~ Chuck !

[Meah]

12:39 PM on 12/15/2009

Charlie, I was never compelled to watch you. Got enough of you during the elections. You got some nerve talking about Diane Sawyer like that. Just go already!

[jemiltd]

11:18 AM on 12/15/2009

She can read, she will be just fine.

[Theatrixnyc]

12:11 PM on 12/15/2009

If only they could find real investigative journalists who search for the truth, and report it unafraid. That would be an upgrade.

[jemiltd]

01:24 PM on 12/15/2009

Real investigative journalism would require that they tell the complete unbiased truth. What corporation owned media outlet would allow that?

[santiagonoodleman]

02:26 PM on 12/16/2009

hysterical.right on the money...

[cheryltalks]

11:14 AM on 12/15/2009

Is he really that into himself? How disappointing.

[CoronaDischarge]

11:14 AM on 12/15/2009

Poor Charlie. He hasn't come to grips yet with the idea that Diane represents an upgrade at his time slot.

[laddieluv]

10:30 AM on 12/15/2009

Charlie seems to be having a little trouble "sharing and playing well with others."

[american-dolt]

09:11 AM on 12/15/2009

C'mon Charlie, she'll water down the News better than you.

[lukebenward]

09:51 AM on 12/15/2009

lol True. Deliver it at luke-warm temperature than icy cold.

[HBD]

08:39 AM on 12/15/2009

"It's good to leave when your elevator is up on a high floor and not on a low floor."

Ummm...sorry, Charlie, but your elevator hit the bottom when you and Stephie made a flag pin the issue in one of the debates last year, you dolt!

[Theatrixnyc]

10:18 AM on 12/15/2009

They are all copy readers, nothing more. They sit and do as their told, so I'm pretty sure just about anyone with the ability to read and make a nice appearance could handle the job.

[kuhler]

07:10 AM on 12/15/2009

Way to go out graciously, Charlie. A few more cracks like that one, and you might want to check and see which floor it is your elevator is on again. It appears to be sinking.

[deridaa]

06:59 AM on 12/15/2009

Gibson could use a gibson. He has little to say and takes forever to say it. I didn't know he was still on the air until he announced he was leaving. Most people I've spoken with thought he was retired along with Cronkite and others doing National Geographic voice overs. He never seemed very bright just very interested in hearing his own sloooooooooooooooow deep voice. His interviews were lackluster. The days of getting applause for looking like an insurance salesman from Des Moine ended when Doris Day retired with her animals to a ranch outside of Carmel.

[yellowdoggie]

06:26 AM on 12/15/2009

Charlie has a pretty inflated sense of his own importance. He will find out that people will adjust to having a new anchor just fine. Personally, I think he's a boring old poop, myself.