ABC “World News” anchor Charlie Gibson (as he prefers to be known, as opposed to Charles) will officially be retired after his final broadcast tomorrow night. Unlike another legendary great, Walter Cronkite, Gibson chose to leave.
While I’m not normally around the television at the time of evening to watch network evening news, I have had the pleasure to watch Gibson here and there through the years, both while at “Good Morning America” and at times with “World News.” As a kid, if I didn’t have Bozo or some other cartoon on in the morning before school, my mother would have WLS-TV/ABC 7 on, allowing me to watch a little of “Good Morning America.”
Gibson always came across as a friendly and credible personality. His time at “World News” was not as long as many of the other greats who had previously anchored at the evening news desk (i.e. Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, just to name a few). From what I have read these past few months, Gibson initially was set on retiring a few years earlier, but when the opportunity arose to anchor what was then “World News Tonight,” it was hard to pass up (this following the awkward situation with Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas).
I wish Gibson all the best in his retirement. Having said that, I do believe we will see Gibson re-surface as a contributor to ABC News at certain times.
And, if after a few weeks, Gibson notices that he is a little bored, ABC’s Sunday morning public affairs program “This Week” will soon need a new host…
