Diane Sawyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Diane Sawyer | ||
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| Born | Lila Diane Sawyer December 22, 1945 Glasgow, Kentucky, U.S. |
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| Education | Wellesley College, B.A., 1967 | |
| Occupation | Television Journalist (1967-70, 1978-present), White House Press Aide (1970-74), Literary Assistant to Former President Richard Nixon (1974-78) | |
| Spouse | Sherry Yellden | |
| Salary | $12–15 million | |
| Notable credit(s) | CBS Morning News anchor (1981–1984)
60 Minutes correspondent (1984–1989) Primetime Live anchor (1989–Present) Good Morning America anchor (1999–Present) |
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| Official website | ||
Lila Diane Sawyer (born December 22, 1945) is an American television journalist for ABC and co-anchor of its morning news show, Good Morning America. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. In 2007 she ranked 62nd on Forbes' "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list.
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[edit] Biography
Sawyer was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, the daughter of Jean W. (née Dunagan), an elementary school teacher, and Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer, a judge.[1] Soon after her birth, her family moved to Louisville, where her father rose to local prominence as a Republican politician and community leader; he was the Jefferson County Judge/Executive when he was killed in a car accident on Louisville's Interstate 64 in 1969 while still in office. E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, located in the Frey's Hill area of Louisville, is named in his honor.
Sawyer attended Seneca High School in the Buechel area of Louisville. In 1963, she won the "America's Junior Miss" scholarship pageant as a representative from the State of Kentucky, and in 1967, she received a degree in English from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
She attended one semester of law school at the University of Louisville before turning to journalism.
Since 29 April 1988 she has been married to award-winning director Mike Nichols. They have no children. Nichols has Daisy (1974), Max (1964), and Jenny (1977) from his three previous marriages. Sawyer previously had relationships with Frank Gannon, aide to President Richard Nixon, and U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke.[2]
[edit] Career
Sawyer served as a local TV news reporter and "weather girl" for WLKY-TV in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1970, White House press secretary Ron Ziegler hired her to serve in the administration of President Nixon. Sawyer stayed on through his resignation in 1974 and worked on the Nixon-Ford transition team in 1974-75, after which she decamped with Nixon to California and helped him write his memoirs, published in 1978. She also helped prepare Nixon for his famous set of television interviews with journalist David Frost in 1977.[3] Years later, Sawyer would be suspected as the source of leaks of classified information (nicknamed "Deep Throat") to Bob Woodward during the Watergate scandal. On his deathbed, Rabbi Baruch Korff, a longtime Nixon confidant and defender known as "Nixon's rabbi," said he believed Sawyer was Deep Throat. Sawyer laughed it off, and she was one of six people to request and receive a public denial from Woodward.[4][5]
In 1978, Sawyer joined CBS as a political correspondent and became a co-anchor, with Bill Kurtis, of the CBS Morning News in 1981. In 1984, she became a correspondent for 60 Minutes, where she remained for five years.
In 1989, she moved to ABC to co-anchor Primetime Live with Sam Donaldson. From 1998-2000, she would become a co-anchor for ABC's 20/20, co-anchoring on Wednesdays with Donaldson and on Sundays with Barbara Walters.
In 1999, Sawyer returned to morning news, under a lucrative contract, as the co-anchor of Good Morning America, with Charles Gibson. The assignment was putatively temporary, but her success in the position, measured by a close in the gap with front-runner The Today Show on NBC, has kept her in the position far longer than anticipated.
[edit] Career timeline
- 1984–1989: 60 Minutes correspondent[6][7]
- February 1989–1998, 2000–present: Primetime Live co-anchor[6][7]
- 1998–2000: 20/20 co-anchor[7]
- January 1999–present: Good Morning America co-anchor[6]
- 1999–2000: ABC 2000 Today[7]
[edit] Famous interviews
Sawyer has interviewed many important political figures, such as former U.S. President George W. Bush, former U.S. President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton— first interview after the former's 1992 election to the U.S. Presidency,[6] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad— February 12, 2007, one of the first interviews granted to an American, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), First Female Speaker of the House, former Cuban President Fidel Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, U.S. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, and former Panamanian General Manuel Noriega. She was allowed to take a special tour of North Korea.
From the entertainment world, Sawyer has interviewed singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson, actor Michael J. Fox, comedienne Ellen DeGeneres (after her coming-out), the Dixie Chicks, Britney Spears, Clay Aiken (twice), and actor Mel Gibson.
Sawyer has also interviewed now, president Barack Obama
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/38/Diane-Sawyer.html
- ^ Howard, Margo. "60 Minutes' Newest Correspondent, Diane Sawyer," People. 5 Nov 1984. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089065,00.html Retrieved 10 Jan 2009
- ^ Sherr, Lynn, "Diane Sawyer on Fact vs. Fiction in Frost/Nixon, The Daily Beast, http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-12-06/diane-sawyer-on-fact-vs-fiction-in-frostnixon Retrieved 10 Jan 2009.
- ^ Carlin, John. "Dying rabbi "names" Watergate's "Deep Throat," The Independent (London). 28 June 1995. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950628/ai_n13991211/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1 From findarticles.com Retrieved 10 Jan 2009
- ^ CNN, "Just Who is Deep Throat?", Posted 17 June 17 2002. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/17/deep.throat.facts/ Retrieved 10 Jan 2009 from CNN.com
- ^ a b c d ABC News: Diane Sawyer Biography
- ^ a b c d Diane Sawyer
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diane Sawyer |
- Diane Sawyer at the Internet Movie Database
- Transcript of Peabody Award-winning "Primetime Live" story, "Some Veterans' Hospitals in Shocking Shape: Disturbing Revelations About Quality of Care at Some U.S. Veterans’ Hospitals"
| Preceded by Kevin Newman and Lisa McRee |
Good Morning America co-anchor 1999–present with Charles Gibson (from January 18, 1999 to June 28, 2006), and Robin Roberts starting in 2005 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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