Series / ABC World News Tonight

An ABC American news broadcast that is currently anchored by David Muir that broadcasts daily to bring news from around the world and in the United States. On the air since 1948, it is one of the longest running shows on American television.

Anchors

• Weekdays
  • HR Baukhage and Jim Gibbons (August 11, 1948-March 30, 1951)
  • Unknown (April 2, 1951-October 3, 1952)
  • Bryson Rash, Pauline Frederick, Gordon Fraser, & Leo Cherne (October 6, 1952-January 2, 1953)
  • No broadcast (January 5, 1953-October 9, 1953)
  • John Daly (October 12, 1953- September 12, 1958)
  • Don Goddard (September 15, 1958-May 8, 1959)
  • John Daly (May 11, 1959, December 16, 1960)
  • Bill Shadel (December 19, 1960- September 22, 1961)
  • Bill Lawrence, Al Mann, & John Cameron Swayze (September 25, 1961-March 23, 1962)
  • Ron Cochran (March 26, 1962-January 29, 1965)
  • Peter Jennings (February 1, 1965-October 13, 1967)
  • Bob Young (October 16, 1967- May 24, 1968)
  • Frank Reynolds (May 27, 1968-May 16, 1969)
  • Reynolds and Howard K Smith (May 19, 1969- December 4, 1970)
  • Smith and Harry Reasoner (December 7, 1970-September 5, 1975)
  • Reasoner (September 8, 1975-October 1, 1976)
  • Reasoner and Barbara Walters (October 4, 1976-July 7, 1978)
  • Reynolds, Max Robinson, Jennings (July 10, 1978-April 20, 1983)
  • Robinson and Jennings (April 23, 1983-August 8, 1983)^note during this period; ABC would use a series of substitute anchors - most prominently This Week host David Brinkley - at the Washington bureau vacated by the illness and eventual death on July 20, 1983 of Frank Reynolds
  • Jennings (August 9, 1983-April 5, 2005)
  • Charles Gibson, Elizabeth Vargas, & Bob Woodruff (April 6, 2005-January 2, 2006)
  • Vargas and Woodruff (January 3-May 26, 2006)^note Vargas - a few months prior to Katie Couric taking the helm at CBS - spent much of this time as the defacto first female solo network news anchor due to Woodruff being seriously injured when an IED exploded near a group of soldiers in Iraq; where Woodruff was working as an embedded journalist
  • Charles Gibson (May 29, 2006- December 18, 2009)
  • Diane Sawyer (December 21, 2009-August 27, 2014)
  • David Muir (September 1, 2014-present)
• Weekends
  • Ted Koppel (Saturday, 1975-1977)
  • Tom Jarriel and Sylvia Chase (Saturday, 1977-1979)
  • Sam Donaldson (Sunday, 1979-1989)
  • Kathleen Sullivan (Saturday edition, 1985-1987)
  • Barry Serafin (Saturday edition, 1987-1988)
  • Carole Simpson (Saturday, 1988-1993, Sunday, 1993-2003)
  • Forrest Sawyer (Sunday, 1989-1993)
  • Vargas (Saturday, 1997-2003, Sunday, 2003-2004)
  • Terry Moran (Saturday, 2004-2005)
  • Woodruff (Sunday, 2004-2005)
  • Jim Avila (Saturday, 2006-2007)
  • Dan Harris (Sunday, 2006-2011)
  • Muir (Saturday, 2007-2011, weekends, 2011-2014)
  • Cecilia Vega (Saturday, 2015-2017)
  • Tom Llamas (Sunday, 2015-2017, weekends, 2017-2021)
  • Whit Johnson (Saturday, 2021-present)
  • Linsey Davis (Sunday, 2021-present)

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Provides examples of:

• Human-Interest Story: During David Muir's run, he has done stories about people going through difficult times but managing to pull through, either because of illnesses like cancer or people who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • He has also done segments like America Strong, where he showcases Americans helping each other through tough times and acts of kindness towards strangers.
  • Made in America, where he showcases American companies making American products, since many things sold in America are either made in China or other countries.
  • Before that, one common feature closing the Friday newscasts dating back to the Peter Jennings era was "Person of the Week"; where a person making a positive impact in their community would be featured in a story.
• This Just In!: Any story that just happened late in the day will be covered before other stories will also be covered like the death of a major figure like Ruth Bader Ginsburg or George H. W. Bush.

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