Barbara Walters Quits "20/20"

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13353,00.html?eol.tkr

 

Barbara Walters Quits "20/20"

 

by Lia Haberman

 

It's a waterworks moment: Barbara Walters, who has drawn tears during interviews with newsmakers such as General Norman Schwarzkopf and Monica Lewinsky, is stepping down as host of ABC's 20/20.

 

The newslady with a lisp, affectionately nicknamed Baba Wawa, has decided it's time for a change after 25 years as coanchor of the newsmagazine. Come September, she'll scale back to six news specials per year for ABC News, including her annual Oscar fawn-fest.

 

 

Walters will remain executive producer and cohost of her successful daytime talker The View.

 

"20/20 has been an integral part of my life and a major focus of my work," said Walters in a statement. "Starting in September, I want to have more flexibility in my life without the responsibilities of a weekly newsmagazine."

 

Walters, 74, has been in front of the cameras since 1963, when she became the cohost of NBC's Today Show. She joined 20/20 in 1979 opposite Hugh Downs, who retired in 1999 and was replaced first by John Miller and most recently by John Stossel.

 

Replacing the grand dame of touchy-feely interviews would be impossible, ABC News prez David Westin told the New York Times. Instead, they plan to remodel the show to rely less on major interviews.

 

During her career, Walters was famous for landing interviews with the movers and shakers making headlines, including: Fidel Castro; Patty Hearst in prison and after her release; Martha Stewart after her indictment; Robert Blake after he was arrested for his wife's murder; every president since Richard Nixon; and a who's who list of Hollywood stars.

 

Her March 1999 interview with Lewinsky attracted a whopping 48.5 million viewers.

 

But the increasing pressure to appeal to TV watchers indifferent to current events outside the show-biz arena bothered Walters. "We did Castro, and it was a huge interview," she told the Times. "But we did much better in the ratings with Courteney Cox and David Arquette."

 

She also deplored the murky practice of "package deals," in which the networks offer up everything from concert specials to book deals in exchange for exclusive news interview.

 

By leaving now, Walters manages to go out on top with her reputation largely intact--soft lighting and warm, fuzzy questions aside. The show has averaged 10 million viewers this season, up from 8.8 million last year.

 

 

Now if only ABC would get rid of the View.

[Mole 0]

I meant to post this, but I forgot.

 

I would have cared 6-7 years ago when I used to watch 20/20 every Friday night. Now I could care less.

 

However, Walters could make 90% of the people she interviewed cry.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

But 90% of those people would have cried anyway with any interviewer because they were usually trying to just enhance their image by shedding a few tears and looking "human"...