Charles Gibson | |
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 Gibson in 2008 | |
| Born | Charles deWolf Gibson (1943-03-09)March 9, 1943 (age 82) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Princeton University |
| Occupation | Television journalist |
| Years active |
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| Notable credits |
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| Spouse | Arlene Gibson |
| Children | 2 |
Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an Americanbroadcast televisionanchor,journalist, andpodcaster. Gibson was a host ofGood Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor ofABC World News from 2006 to 2009.[1]
In 1965, Gibson worked as the news director forPrinceton University's student-run radio station, a radio producer for RKO, and a reporter for local television stations. In 1975, he joinedABC News, where he worked as a general assignment reporter and a correspondent fromWashington, D.C.
Gibson was born on March 9, 1943, inEvanston, Illinois, to Georgianna Law and Burdett Gibson, and is a great-nephew of graphic artistCharles Dana Gibson. He grew up inWashington, D.C.,[2] and attended theSidwell Friends School, aprivatecollege-preparatory school in Washington.
In 1965, Gibson graduated with an A.B. in history fromPrinceton University, where he wasNews Director forWPRB-FM, the university radio station, and a member ofPrinceton Tower Club. Gibson completed a senior thesis titled "The Land and Capital Problems of Pre-Famine Ireland."[3] In 1966, he served in theUnited States Coast Guard.[4]
Gibson joinedRKO General in 1966 as aproducer and later worked as a reporter and anchor for WLVA (nowWSET) television inLynchburg, Virginia. In 1970, he moved to WMAL-TV (nowWJLA) television, the ABCnetwork affiliate in Washington, D.C. Gibson joined the syndicated news serviceTelevision News Inc. (TVN) in 1974. For TVN, he covered theWatergate scandal investigations and the resignation of PresidentRichard Nixon.[2]
Gibson joined ABC News in 1975, where he worked as itsWhite House correspondent from 1976 to 1977, a general assignment reporter from 1977 to 1981, andHouse of Representatives correspondent from 1981 to 1987. Gibson was a correspondent and stand-in anchor forWorld News Tonight with Peter Jennings, anchoredWorld News Saturday and substitute anchor on the late-nighthard and soft news programNightline andWorld News This Morning.[2]
On February 23, 1987, Gibson first became a co-anchor ofGood Morning America, alongsideJoan Lunden. From 1985 to 1995,Good Morning America was the most-watched morning show on American television.[5]
Gibson hosted and narrated theMaryland Public Television documentaryLucky Number, a program aboutproblem gambling, in 1990.[6]
During the1992 presidential campaign, Vice PresidentDan Quayle used part of an interview between Gibson andReform Party candidateRoss Perot to claim that Perot displayed contempt towards theUnited States Constitution. On the October 22, 1991, edition ofGood Morning America, Gibson asked Perot what Perot would advise PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush to do to "jump-start the economy". Perot stated that the U.S. helpedGermany andJapan write their respective nations' constitutions: "This was at a time when theIndustrial Revolution had occurred. Our Constitution was written 200 years ago, before it occurred." He added that those nations "have an intelligent relationship between business and government." Vice President Quayle responded: "Mr. Perot, we do not need a new constitution. Our Constitution has served us well."[7] When Gibson interviewed Democratic presidential candidate and then-Governor ofArkansasBill Clinton on June 28, 1992,The New York Times noted that Gibson repeatedly pressed Clinton to name his vice presidential candidate.[8] Gibson interviewed President Bush on October 9 that year; Bush stated that he questioned Clinton's judgment, not patriotism, in traveling to theSoviet Union in 1969.[9]
On May 1, 1998, Gibson left the program and ABC replaced him withKevin Newman.[10] Newman began hostingGood Morning America on May 4, 1998.[11]Good Morning America then began losing viewers toNBC'sToday show. In May 1998,Good Morning America averaged 4.17 million viewers daily, andToday averaged 4.43 million; that gap expanded to 3.12 forGood Morning America and 5.26 forToday.[5] ABC reinstated Gibson toGood Morning America on January 18, 1999, withDiane Sawyer as co-host.[12] He remained as co-anchor until June 28, 2006, when he left to anchorWorld News Tonight, having spent 19 years with the morning program. In 1998 and 1999, he was a co-anchor, withConnie Chung, on the Monday edition of the ABC newsmagazine program20/20.
On September 11, 2001, Gibson was anchoringGood Morning America with Diane Sawyer when coverage of the World Trade Center attacks began. Both anchors turned coverage over to colleague Peter Jennings at 9:11am, after the second plane hit the South Tower. His colleagues praised him for his clear-eyed assessment that morning when he instantly recognised a second airplane and described the incident as an "attack".
During the2004 U.S. presidential-election campaign, Gibson moderated thesecond presidential debate inSt. Louis, Missouri, between the two nominee candidates –Republican incumbent PresidentGeorge W. Bush andDemocraticU.S. SenatorJohn Kerry. That debate took place on October 8, 2004.[13]
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In the summer of 2005, Gibson began substitute anchoringWorld News Tonight regularly after long-time anchorPeter Jennings's treatment forlung cancer prevented him from anchoring. On August 7, 2005, Gibson announced Jennings's death and the following day anchoredWorld News Tonight, and was eventually offered the job.
Though Gibson was a leading choice to replace Jennings, he could not agree withDavid Westin, President of ABC News, over how long he would be anchor.[14] On January 2, 2006,Elizabeth Vargas andBob Woodruff, veteran ABC News journalists, were chosen to be Jennings's permanent replacements. They had both been interim anchors. Vargas had been designated by Peter Jennings as his only favored choice as backup anchor on September 11, 2001.
Following Woodruff's severe injury on January 29, 2006, while on assignment inIraq, and Vargas's announcement that she was pregnant, some critics questioned whether Vargas could sustain the program on her own, pointing to falling ratings. In July 2006,Cindy Adams of theNew York Post reported that Gibson would become Woodruff's "Temporary Permanent Replacement" onWorld News Tonight.[15] According to some reports, whileGood Morning America co-hostDiane Sawyer had coveted theWorld News Tonight anchor chair, Gibson had one year on his contract left and threatened to retire if he did not get that position, and asGood Morning America was ABC News' most lucrative show, it would be badly damaged if it lost both Sawyer and Gibson.[16]
On May 23, 2006, Gibson was named sole anchor ofWorld News Tonight, effective May 29, 2006, after Vargas announced her resignation from the program. She cited her doctors' recommendation to reduce considerably her workload because of her upcoming maternity leave, and her wish to spend more time with her new baby.[17] She would return to anchor20/20.
During the summer of 2006, the program's title was changed toWorld News with Charles Gibson. According toThe New York Times, he had previously planned to retire from ABC News on June 22, 2007, but changed his mind.[18]
During the2008 U.S. presidential-election campaign, Gibson was a co-moderator withGeorge Stephanopoulos, anotherABC News journalist, for the April 16, 2008,Democratic Party's presidential-election debate inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, between U.S. SenatorsHillary Clinton andBarack Obama; it was broadcast exclusively by ABC News. Both moderators were later criticized inThe Washington Post and other media outlets for their selection of insubstantial, "gotcha"-style questions. Stephanopoulos acknowledged the legitimacy of the concerns over the order of the questions,[19] but said they were regarding issues in the campaign that had not been covered in previous debates.[20] ABC had sought out a woman who opposed Obama and aired a video of her asking a trivial question, repeated by Stephanopolous, about why Obama was not wearing a flag pin. The question brought widespread criticism from the media.[21][22][23][24] He moderated both the Republican and the DemocraticABC,Facebook debates atSaint Anselm College on January 5, 2008.[25]
On September 11, 2008, Gibson interviewed Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee candidate, her first interview after being named as presidential nominee John McCain's running mate. The interview received criticism from some political commentators, specifically surrounding Gibson's question regarding the term "Bush Doctrine" due to its having a variety of differing meanings.[26][27]
During Gibson's tenure,World News was a solid competitor and sporadically beatNBC Nightly News, anchored byBrian Williams, in the program ratings during 2007, the first time in several years, and the ABC program became much more distant second place after he retired.[28] The two programs have taken turns at the top of the ratings among household viewers and the 25–54 age group prized by advertisers.Katie Couric'sCBS Evening News remained a distant third.[29][30] During his last few months as anchor, Gibson also worked on a special documentary about the oil industry entitledOver a Barrel: The Truth About Oil, which was a critical and ratings success and earned him several awards.
According to reports, while ABC tried to persuade Gibson to stay on as anchor, he decided to retire.[31] On September 2, 2009, ABC News announced thatDiane Sawyer would replace Gibson as theWorld News anchor following his retirement from ABC News. Gibson anchored his final edition ofWorld News on December 18, 2009.[32]
In December 2010, Gibson participated as a speaker onVoices in Leadership, an originalHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health webcast series, in a discussion titled, "Lessons Learned as an ABC News Anchor," moderated byDr. Robert Blendon.[33]
In 2016, he appears as a news anchor in season 4 of theNetflix original seriesHouse of Cards.[34]
During ABC News' live presidential election coverage on November 8, 2016, Gibson appeared as a contributor.[35]
On May 2, 2022, Gibson returned to ABC where he hosted apodcast forABC Audio with his daughter Kate. The podcast, titledThe Bookcase, was designed to feature authors, book industry insiders and local independent bookstores. The first episode featuredOprah Winfrey who discussed the impact of her bookclub, how she picks her choices and her own reading habits. The two regularly make appearances onGood Morning America to update readers on the book world.[36]
In 1973, theNational Endowment for the Humanities awarded him aNational Journalism Fellowship. TheRadio Television Digital News Association awarded Gibson thePaul White Award in 2006,[37] and in 2008Quinnipiac University awarded him the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award.[2]
Gibson's wife, Arlene Gibson, is an educator who retired in 2006 ashead of school atThe Spence School inNew York City.[38] She has also held positions at other schools in New York City and New Jersey, and was previously the head of the middle school at theBryn Mawr School inBaltimore,Maryland, in the 1980s.[39] She is on theboard of trustees at heralma mater,Bryn Mawr College inBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.[40]
They have two daughters, Jessica and Katherine.[41] On March 14, 2006, Jessica gave birth to Gibson's first grandchild.[42]
Gibson has resided with his family inSummit, New Jersey.[43]
Beginning in 2006,[44] Gibson was a member of theboard of trustees of Princeton University, until his term expired in 2015.[45]
On May 28, 1989, Gibson delivered the commencement address atVassar College.[46] On May 17, 2006, Gibson delivered thecommencement address atMonmouth University's class of 2006's graduation ceremony held at thePNC Bank Arts Center inHolmdel Township, New Jersey.[47] He was also presented with adoctor of humane letters, an honorary degree.[48]
On June 17, 2007, Gibson delivered the commencement address to the class of 2007's graduation ceremony atUnion College inSchenectady, New York.[49] Gibson also received an honorary doctor of humane letters, as well as a framed copy of his father's 1923 collegeyearbook entry. His father, Burdett Gibson, grew up in Schenectady and graduated from the college in 1923.[50] Gibson contributed an estimated US$75,000 to the college to help create the Burdett Gibson Class of 1923 Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a deserving student in need.[51]
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