Despite promises from ABC to the contrary, Good Morning America co-host Robin
Roberts appears to have been almost completely shut out from political and
policy interviews since George Stephanopoulos joined the show on December 14.
The former Democratic operative has now anchored 11 mornings and conducted all
but one of the big interviews.
Back on December 10, GMA executive producer Jim Murphy told TV
Newser [1], "We believe in supporting everyone fully." He also added, "Everyone
will get their fair share." And yet, Stephanopoulos has talked to such
heavyweights as Senator John McCain, author Bob Woodward, Representative Pete
King, former counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke, Howard Dean, David
Axelrod and others.
(The single exception occurred on December 22 when Roberts and Stephanopoulos
both quizzed Dr. Tim Johnson about the health care bill.) This is a break from
how the show operated prior to the exit of Diane Sawyer in December. On March
26, 2007, Roberts was the solitary host of an episode-long town hall GMA with
then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton [2]. On
September 9, 2009, she scored an exclusive interview with President
Obama [3]. These are but a few examples.
In the same December 10 TV Newser piece, Roberts seemed taken aback at the
idea that her policy role on the program might be limited:
Asked whether she's concerned that Stephanopoulos' deep DC roots would leave her out of the mix when it comes to hard-hitting interviews, she threw one back at us: "Who from ABC News was invited to the state dinner?" Roberts was.
"I'm not worried one bit," says Roberts.
Roberts has handled other news interviews outside of D.C. policy, including
talking with the father of convicted murder Amanda Knox, for example. On Monday,
she chatted with Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher.
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.