Two To Replace JENNINGS

(From The Hartford Courant -- By Roger Catlin)

It will take two anchors to replace PETER JENNINGS at the desk of ABC's WORLD NEWS TONIGHT.

Network officials Monday announced ELIZABETH VARGAS, 43, and BOB WOODRUFF, 44, will become co-anchors of ABC's flagship evening nightly newscast beginning January 3rd.

Vargas will remain co-anchor of the network's 20/20 newsmagazine. She and Woodruff, a former attorney who has been a New York-based correspondent, have been filling in since Jennings left the broadcast in April because of chemotherapy for lung cancer; Jennings died in August at 67.

ABC beats CBS in filling its top on-camera news position.

CBS has been without a permanent replacement for
DAN RATHER since the veteran anchorman stepped down in March. As BOB SCHIEFFER has continued the interim slot at CBS, officials there have discussed bringing in an anchor team to permanently replace the single-voice anchor, but ABC beat them to the punch.

Vargas and Woodruff will be the third male and female co-anchors for a network news program after two famous failures -- BARBARA WALTERS with HARRY REASONER on ABC in 1976-1978 and CONNIE CHUNG with DAN RATHER on CBS 1993-1995.

Though Vargas is the third woman named a co-anchor for a network newscast, she's the first Puerto Rican woman with such a high profile position.