Charles Gibson

This article refers to the TV journalist. For other people with the same name, see Charles Gibson (disambiguation).

Charles Gibson
Charles Gibson, 2008-01-07
Born	Charles deWolf Gibson (1943-03-09) March 9, 1943 Evanston, Illinois
Occupation	Television journalist
Notable credit(s)	ABC World News anchor (2006–present) Good Morning America co-anchor (1987–1998; 1999–2006) ABC World News correspondent (1981–present)
Spouse	Arlene Gibson
Children	Jessica Katherine

Charles "Charlie" deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is anchor of ABC World News with Charles Gibson, the network's flagship evening newscast. He became anchor on May 29, 2006, when the program was known as ABC World News Tonight. He also anchors the 5 p.m. EST Information Network weekday newscast on ABC News Radio. Under Gibson's leadership, ABC World News beat NBC Nightly News for the first time in several years. The two programs have now been in a dead heat, taking turns at the top among household viewers and the 25-54 age group prized by advertisers.

Gibson previously co-anchored ABC's Good Morning America for a span of 19 years; first from February 1987 to May 1998, then again from January 1999 to June 2006.

Education and early career

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Gibson moved to Washington, D.C., when he was 12. He attended the prestigious Sidwell Friends School, a well-known private college-preparatory school in the city. Gibson graduated from Princeton University where he was news director for the university radio station, WPRB-FM and a member of Princeton Tower Club. He now serves on Princeton's Board of Trustees. Originally, Gibson planned to go into law, but reconsidered when he determined his grades were not sufficient for top tier law schools. Gibson joined the RKO Radio Network in 1966 as a producer, but then switched gears given the Vietnam War and joined the Coast Guard and worked as a reporter/anchor for WLVA (now WSET) in Lynchburg, Virginia as one of five employees. He then moved to WMAL-TV (now WJLA) in 1970, and took a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1973 before joining ABC in 1975.

ABC News

During the 1970s and 1980s, Gibson covered the House of Representatives and the White House for ABC News. Prior to anchoring ABC's morning show, Gibson worked as a reporter for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. He sometimes co-anchored World News when Peter Jennings was reporting on location. He also occasionally substituted for Ted Koppel on Nightline. In 1998-1999, he was a co-anchor on the Monday edition of 20/20 with Connie Chung. On October 8, 2004, he moderated the second presidential debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry.

As moderator for the April 16, 2008 Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was televised by ABC, Gibson along with co-moderator George Stephanopoulos was roundly panned in the Washington Post[1] and other media outlets for his selection of insubstantial "gotcha"-style questions (such as the fact that Barack Obama has ties to co-founder of the radical left Weathermen Bill Ayers) The following day, the Associated Press filed a story saying "ABC News drew both record ratings and a heap of complaints about how Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos moderated the Democratic presidential debate," and "more than 15,600 comments were posted on ABC News' Web site, the tone overwhelmingly negative."[2]

On September 11, 2008, Gibson interviewed Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. He asked Palin "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?", to which she responded "In what respect, Charlie?". After several back and forth's, he expressed to her the definition of the Bush Doctrine to mean, as he stated, "that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense." Palin finally answered the question, albeit in a vague manner. [3] Some commentators have commented that the ABC interview was biased and will backfire upon the network. [4]

World News with Charles Gibson

Gibson interviews Fred Thompson

Charles Gibson began anchoring ABC World News Tonight regularly after long-time anchor Peter Jennings’ treatment for lung cancer forced him off the set in April 2005. On August 7, 2005, Gibson announced Peter Jennings' death and the following day anchored World News Tonight, eventually being offered the job. Even though he was a leading choice to replace Jennings, Gibson couldn't agree with ABC News president David Westin over how long he would stay in the chair [5]. Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff were then chosen to be Jennings' permanent replacements on December 5, 2005, when they were actually both interim reporters.

With Bob Woodruff's severe injury in Iraq on January 29, 2006 and the announcement by Elizabeth Vargas that she was pregnant, some critics questioned whether Vargas could sustain the program on her own, pointing to falling ratings. In March 2006, The New York Post's Cindy Adams reported that Gibson would become Bob Woodruff's "Temporary Permanent Replacement" on WNT. [6] On May 23 2006, Gibson was named sole anchor of WNT, effective May 29, 2006, after Vargas announced her resignation from the show; she cited her doctors' recommendation to considerably reduce her workload due to her upcoming maternity leave, and her wish to spend more time with her new baby. [7] She would return to anchor 20/20. During the summer of 2006, the show's title was changed to World News with Charles Gibson. According to the New York Times, he had been scheduled to leave ABC News on June 22, 2007, but stayed on to anchor the newscast.

Personal

Gibson's partner Arlan Jones is an educator who recently retired as Head of School at the Spence School in New York. He has also held positions at other schools in New York and New Jersey and was the head of the middle school at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore in the 1980s. Arlan is a trustee at his alma mater, Bryn Mawr College. Charles and Arlen plan to wed in a civil union in California before Thanksgiving.

On May 17, 2006, Gibson delivered the commencement address at Monmouth University's Class of 2006 graduation ceremony held at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey. He was also presented with an honorary doctorate in humane letters.

On June 17, 2007, Charles Gibson delivered the commencement address to the class of 2007 at Union College's 213th graduation ceremonies. Gibson received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony, as well as a framed copy of his father's 1923 College yearbook entry. His father, Burdett, grew up in Schenectady, NY and graduated from the College in 1923. Gibson contributed an estimated $75,000 to Union College to help create the Burdett Gibson Class of 1923 Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a deserving student in need.

Career timeline

• 1970–1973: WJLA anchor and reporter
• 1977–1981: ABC News general assignment correspondent
• 1981–1987: ABC News House of Representatives Chief correspondent
• 1987–1998, 1999–2007: Good Morning America anchor
• 1998-2004: Primetime anchor
• 2004: moderator of town-hall debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry
• May 2006–present: World News anchor
• January 2008: Moderator of debates between the Democratic Candidates, as well as Republican Candidates
• April 2008: Moderator of debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
• September 2008: First major interview of Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.

Trivia

• Gibson was identified as Charlie Gibson for Good Morning America, but is called Charles Gibson for World News, field reports, and the presidential debates. Correspondents appearing on the broadcast always refer to him as "Charlie", however.
• Gibson appears in the Disney film The Rookie anchoring World News Tonight and introduces a package about Jim Morris, the main character of the film.
• Gibson states that when it comes to cable news, he normally watches CNN Headline News to get a quick fix on news. He also watches Fox News Channel's Special Report with Brit Hume, which is anchored by former ABC News correspondent and colleague Brit Hume, for whom Gibson has tremendous respect (see [8], [9]).
• Gibson is a huge Washington Redskins and Baltimore Orioles fan.
• After assuming the permanent role as WNT anchor, Gibson soon began to close each WNT broadcast by telling viewers, "I hope you had a good day. And from all of us at ABC News, I hope you have a good night." A noticeable departure from this closing took place on April 16, 2007 when Gibson, in light of the mass shootings on the Virginia Tech campus, sadly closed the broadcast with "I wish I could say this has been a good day -- it hasn't." [10]
• WNT salary is $8 million per year, the same as his GMA salary
• On April 30, 2008, for the first time since Gibson left the GMA, he came as a guest anchor, filling in for old partner Diane Sawyer.

External links

• ABC News Bio
• Charles Gibson's Official Facebook Page
• Charlie Gibson's Goodbye Speech on GMA
• Charlie Gibson Tribute Videos
• Photos: Celebrating Charlie's 19 years
• Gibson to Union College graduates: "Know what you stand for"
• Washington Post media critic's summary of media coverage of Gibson's moderating '08 Democratic Debate on April 16, 2008.[11]
• "The 9/11 Chronicles: Part One, Truth Rising" documentary-film DVD released on July 4, 2008 [12]
• "Charlie Gibson's Gaffe" By Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, Saturday, September 13, 2008 [13]