David Muir

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This article is about the ABC News journalist. For other uses, see David Muir (disambiguation).

David Muir
20/20 (2013–present)
TermAnchor of ABC World News Tonight
PredecessorDiane Sawyer

David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American

Emmy and Edward R. Murrow
awards for his national and international journalism.

According to the Tyndall Report, Muir's news reporting received the most airtime in 2012 and 2013. He has become one of the most visible journalists in America.[1] As of 2019, World News Tonight with David Muir has become the most watched newscast in the United States.[2]

Early life and education

David Muir was born into a

WTVH-TV in Syracuse.[6] While in college Muir was inspired by a professor who told him he had "the cut of a TV newsman." He spent a semester at the Institute on Political Journalism at the Fund for American Studies at Georgetown University and another semester abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain with the Institute for the International Education of Students.[5][7]

Career

WTVH television

From 1994 to 2000, Muir worked as an anchor and a reporter at

Radio-Television News Directors Association. The Associated Press honored Muir for Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Television Interview. The Syracuse Press Club
recognized Muir as anchor of the "Best Local Newscast", and he was voted one of the "Best Local News Anchors" in Syracuse.

WCVB television

From 2000 to 2003, Muir was an anchor and a reporter for

Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting and the National Headliner Award and Associated Press honors for his work tracing the path of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks.[8] The Associated Press also recognized his news-anchoring and reporting.[9]

ABC News

Muir interviewing President Donald Trump in 2020
Muir interviewing President Joe Biden in 2021

In August 2003, Muir joined

World News with David Muir. Muir has been silently credited with a rise in the ratings of the weekend evening broadcasts.[10] In March 2013, Muir was promoted to co-anchor ABC's 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas
.

In September 2005, Muir was inside the

New Orleans Superdome as Hurricane Katrina hit, and stayed in New Orleans to report on the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Muir's reports revealed and highlighted the deteriorating conditions inside the Convention Center and Charity Hospital, as Muir and his photographer waded through chest-deep waters for blocks to find patients trapped inside the hospital.[5]

Muir reported from the Israeli-Lebanon border in October 2006 on the Israeli war with Hezbollah. Muir was in Gaza in March 2007 to cover the Hamas coup, reporting from inside the Gaza Strip.[5] In October 2007, Muir was dispatched to Peru after the worst earthquake to hit that country in more than two decades.

In September 2008, Muir reported from Ukraine, more than two decades after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. In April 2009, David Muir and Diane Sawyer reported a 20/20 hour about guns in America getting "disturbing results" as described by the New York Daily News.[11]

In May 2009, Muir's reporting on 20/20 revealed a significant increase in the number of homeless children in America. Muir made multiple trips to the

BP oil spill. In April 2011, Muir reported from Haiti after the hurricane and returned to report on the attacks against women.[5]

In January 2010, David traveled to Haiti in the wake of the

Port au Prince.[13]

In June 2011, Muir reported from

movie theater mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; from Joplin, Missouri in the aftermath of a destructive tornado; and from Tucson, Arizona after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords that left six others dead.[5]

In November 2012, Muir served as one of ABC's lead correspondents for the

The View, where he has served as guest co-host.[17]

In January 2013, Muir reported from inside Iran, leading up to the nuclear talks.[18] Muir was the first Western journalist to report from Mogadishu, Somalia on the famine.[19] Muir and his team came under fire while reporting from Mogadishu. In 2013, he received the Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting.

On June 27, 2014, ABC News announced that Muir would succeed

ABC World News. Muir made his debut broadcast on September 1, 2014. In April 2015, "World News Tonight with David Muir" became the country's most-watched evening newscast, outpacing NBC Nightly News for the first time since September 7, 2009.[20]

In March 2016, Muir released a year-long report on the heroin crisis in America winning a

CINE Golden Eagle Award for his reporting.[21]

Muir interviewed Former President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017 in the White House. It was Trump's first interview as President.[22]

In 2020, Muir's ratings exploded during the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic along with the other Evening News programs.[23] [24] Averaging around 12 million viewers, and becoming the most watched TV Program.[25] On May 6, 2020 Muir interviewed President Donald Trump about the COVID Pandemic.[26] The interview was met with some criticism as some felt Muir didn't adequately push back on Trump's falsehoods, or ask him enough follow-up questions.[27][28][29]

In 2021 he traveled to Southern Madagascar to report on the malnutrition and hunger in the country the famine is caused by Climate Change and is considered the first "Climate Change Famine." After the report, there was a massive surge of donations and support to the World Food Program which received 1.8 million dollars by 25,000 donors.[30][31][32]

In 2021, Muir became the lead anchor of breaking news and special event coverage for ABC News, a role previously held by GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos from 2014 to 2020.[33] The move reportedly angered Stephanopoulos.[34]

Honors

Muir delivered the commencement address at Ithaca College in New York in May 2011; he urged graduates to use their voices.[35] On March 13, 2015, the college awarded Muir, an alumnus, an honorary Doctor of Letters degree and the Jessica Savitch Award of Distinction for Excellence in Journalism.[36]

In 2013, TV Week called Muir one of the "12 to Watch in TV News".[37] He was listed as one of People's Sexiest Men Alive in 2014.[38]

On May 8, 2015, Muir delivered the commencement address at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. During the ceremony, he was given an honorary Doctor of Media degree.[39]

On May 12, 2018, Muir delivered the commencement address at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.[40]

On May 15, 2022, Muir delivered the commencement address at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.[41]

On September 19, 2023, he was named the winner of the 40th Cronkite Award by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.[42]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ABC's David Muir Was The Most-Used Reporter On Broadcast News In 2012". Mediaite. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Evening News Ratings: Week of August 14". Adweek. August 22, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Pacheco, Patrick (June 25, 2014). "What Diane Sawyer Thinks of David Muir's 'World News' Success". Gotham.
  4. ^ "David Muir: Syracuse native was always on a path to the top of network news". The Post-Standard. Syracuse. July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "David Muir, February 14, 2013". ABC News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Herbert, Geoff (November 30, 2016). "David Muir's success, reporting driven by Syracuse upbringing". The Post-Standard. Syracuse. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "A Journalist in the Making: David Muir (Salamanca, Spring 1994) ABC News Anchor and Correspondent". International Education of Students. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Ford, David (February 20, 2013). "ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran". ABC News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "News Correspondents: David Muir Archived January 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine". ABC News. Accessed February 6, 2010.
  10. Huff Post
    . Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  11. ^ Huff, Richard (April 9, 2009). "ABC News gets disturbing results with 'If Only I Had a Gun'". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  12. ^ "David Muir: 27 memorable reporting moments". ABC News. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "David Muir". ABC Audio. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Muir, David (August 8, 2011). "Inside Somalia's Crippling Famine". Daily Beast. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  15. ^ "David Muir Mitt Romney Interview". ABC News. July 29, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  16. ^ Little, Morgan (July 29, 2012). "Romney unsure if he's paid less than a 12.9% tax rate in the past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  17. ^ "David Muir Brings 'Made in America' Gifts to 'The View'". ABC News. January 25, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  18. ^ Ford, David (February 20, 2013). "ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran". ABC News. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  19. ^ Fung, Katherine (July 28, 2011). "ABC's David Muir On Famine In Somalia: 'It's Heartbreaking'". Huff Post. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  20. ^ Steinberg, Brian (April 7, 2015). "ABC's World News Steals Most-Watched Crown From NBC's Nightly News". Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  21. ^ Ariens, Chris (April 29, 2017). "David Muir's Heroin Reporting Wins CINE Golden Eagle Award". AdWeek. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  22. ^ "TRANSCRIPT: ABC News anchor David Muir interviews President Trump". ABC News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  23. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  24. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/network-newscasts-keep-up-ratings-momentum-pandemic-1291263/
  25. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  26. ^ "TRANSCRIPT: ABC News anchor David Muir interviews President Trump in Arizona". ABC News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Grove, Lloyd (May 6, 2020). "Trump Wanted a Softball Interview. ABC's David Muir Obliged". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  28. ^ https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/06/media/david-muir-donald-trump-reliable-sources/index.html
  29. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  30. ^ "S. Madagascar on the verge of climate change-induced famine: How to help". ABC News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  31. ^ "The News That Caused People to Give Over $1M Dollars in 24 Hours". World Food Program USA. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  32. ^ "World Food Program Raises $1.8 Million Following David Muir's Report on Madagascar's Climate Change Famine". www.adweek.com. November 4, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  33. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (March 1, 2021). "David Muir to Head Up Breaking News Duties for ABC News". TheWrap. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  34. ^ Stelter, Brian (March 2, 2021). "David Muir's new role at ABC News leads to drama with George Stephanopoulos and a visit from Bob Iger | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  35. ^ "ABC News Anchor David Muir Urges Ithaca College Graduates to Find Their Own Voices" (Press release). Ithaca College. May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2023 – via News Wise.
  36. ^ Rochon, Thomas (March 17, 2015). "David Muir '95 Receives Honorary Degree". Ithaca College. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  37. ^ "12 to Watch in TV News" (PDF). TV Week. December 17, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  38. Huff Post
    . Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  39. ^ "Award-winning journalist David Muir to deliver Northeastern University's 2015 Commencement address". Northeastern Global News. April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  40. ^ Erickson, Doug (February 21, 2018). "ABC News' David Muir, America's most-watched anchor, to be spring commencement speaker". University of Wisconsin News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  41. ^ "Syracuse Native David Muir, Anchor of 'ABC World News Tonight with David Muir,' to Address Syracuse University Graduates at Commencement 2022". Syracuse University News. April 21, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  42. ^ "'ABC World News' anchor David Muir chosen for Arizona State University's Cronkite Award". Associated Press. September 19, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.

External links

Media offices
Preceded by ABC World News Tonight anchor
September 1, 2014 – present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Muir&oldid=1217277000"