We told you a few weeks ago that there was a serious fight between the networks to score the first exclusive interview with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. CNN's Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper as well as NBC's Matt Lauer all met with Wilson before he finally decided to sit down and talk on the record with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. As it turns out, perhaps the person most bent out of shape over Wilson's choice is ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir.
Apparently Muir believes that as the network's evening anchor, he should be the one who is in the running for the serious "gets," not just Stephanopoulos. Sources close to Muir dished on the fact that he is furious exclusively to Page Six.
"David has made it very clear to the suits that he doesn't want to be just behind the desk reporting the news, he also wants to be in the field, doing his own reports on breaking news stories. While it is George's job to do the big news interviews and stories for ABC, David is making the case to ABC News bosses that the World News anchor has always been involved in the big, breaking stories.
"David was frustrated that the Ferguson interview went to George — and he made that frustration known. David is highly regarded at ABC because of the success of World News against its rivals and his popularity in the key demo. But he is also very ambitious, he wants to be on the big stories, and he's prepared to fight George for them," said the source.
Do you think Muir was purposely overlooked for this interview, or did ABC simply expect Stephanopoulos to handle it because he always does take the big ones? Is it time for them to make more room for Muir's real reporting as well? Should he just be a news reader, or is Muir strong enough to be out in the field or chasing down the hottest interviews?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
