Long Adrift, ABC NEWS Now Sinks

(From The New York Times -- By Matea Gold)

It was just one week.

But when ABC's WORLD NEWS TONIGHT -- whose viewership already has dropped by nearly 1 million people in the last year -- slipped behind the perennially third-ranked CBS EVENING NEWS in the ratings last week, it was more than just a blow to morale.

It was, according to some inside the network, a sobering and frustrating reminder of the internal tug-of-war that has stalled the newscast's efforts to recast itself after the death of anchor PETER JENNINGS and the serious wounds suffered by one of his successors in Iraq nearly four months ago.

BOB WOODRUFF is undergoing rehabilitation and is determined to return to the job, but it remains unclear when he will be able to do so. Initially, news officials said they were developing an interim plan for the program. But despite widespread expectations that the network was on the verge of announcing a new partner for ELIZABETH VARGAS weeks ago -- with GOOD MORNING AMERICA co-anchor CHARLES GIBSON increasingly seen as the likely candidate -- nothing has happened.

The main sticking point, according to people familiar with the situation, has been a reluctance to upend the second-place morning show, which some executives believe has a shot at taking on NBC's TODAY after KATIE COURIC leaves at the end of this month.

ABC's dilemma has spotlighted a reality with which every network news division must grapple -- Morning shows bring in substantially more ad revenue than the evening news programs, even though the latter are viewed as the flagship broadcasts.

ABC NEWS spokeswoman CATHIE LEVINE declined to comment on any internal discussions. "When we have an announcement to make, we'll make it," she said.

The delay has forced WORLD NEWS TONIGHT producers to essentially abandon a new initiative to offer updated
West Coast editions of the newscast and plans to send the new anchor duo on high-profile trips.

Even though Vargas has been effectively serving as the first solo female anchor of an evening newscast since Woodruff was injured, the network has made little noise about her tenure, waiting to have a long-term plan in place for the program before marketing it.