David Muir

For other uses, see David Muir (disambiguation).
David Muir
Born David Jason Muir
(1973-11-08) November 8, 1973
Syracuse, New York, United States
Education Bachelor of Arts
Alma mater Ithaca College
Occupation Television presenter, Television journalist, Managing editor
Years active 1995–present
Notable credit(s) ABC World News Tonight
(2009–present)
20/20
(2013–present)
Salary $5 Million[1]
Religion Catholic

David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in New York City. Muir previously served as the weekend anchor for the flagship ABC News broadcast ABC World News Tonight, and the co-anchor of the ABC newsmagazine 20/20. Muir formerly acted as principal substitute for World News with Diane Sawyer on weeknights, and then succeeded Sawyer in the anchor chair on Monday, September 1, 2014. At ABC News, Muir has won multiple Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for his national and international journalism.

Muir is one of the most visible journalists in America. According to the Tyndall Report, Muir's reporting received the most airtime in 2012 and 2013.[2] TV Week has called him one of the "12 to Watch in TV News"[3] and TMZ, a celebrity news website, has called him "the Brad Pitt of news anchors" or is Brad Pitt "the David Muir of movie actors?"[4]

Muir was listed as one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive in 2014.[5]

Early life

Muir was born in Syracuse, New York[6] and grew up in Onondaga Hill. Muir has one older sibling, three nieces and one nephew. In addition to English, Muir is fluent in Arabic and Spanish. Muir graduated from Onondaga Central Junior-Senior High School in May 1991 and attended the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism in May 1995.[7] While in college, Muir also attended the Institute on Political Journalism at the Fund for American Studies at Georgetown University and studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain.[7]

Career

WTVH television

From 1995 to 2000, Muir worked as an anchor and a reporter at WTVH television in Syracuse, New York. Muir's reports from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the Gaza Strip following the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin earned him top honors from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The Associated Press honored Muir for Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Television Interview. The Syracuse Press Club recognized Muir as anchor of the "Best Local Newscast", and he was voted one of the "Best Local News Anchors" in Syracuse.

WCVB television

From 2000 to 2003, Muir was an anchor and a reporter for WCVB television in Boston, where he won the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting and the National Headliner Award and Associated Press honors for his work tracing the path of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks.[8] The Associated Press also recognized his news-anchoring and reporting.[9]

ABC News

In August 2003, Muir joined ABC News as anchor of the overnight news program World News Now. Starting in June 2007, Muir was the anchor of World News Saturday. In 2006, and occasionally thereafter, he co-anchored the newsmagazine Primetime. In February 2012, Muir became anchor for the weekend newscasts, and the broadcast was named World News with David Muir. Muir has been silently credited with a rise in the ratings of the weekend evening broadcasts.[10] In March 2013, Muir was promoted to co-anchor ABC's 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas.

In September 2005, Muir was inside the New Orleans Superdome as Hurricane Katrina hit, and stayed in New Orleans to report on the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Muir's reports revealed and highlighted the deteriorating conditions inside the Convention Center and Charity Hospital, as Muir and his photographer waded through chest-deep waters for blocks to find patients trapped inside the hospital.[7]

Muir reported from the Israeli-Lebanon border in October 2006 on the Israeli war with Hezbollah. Muir was in Gaza in March 2007 to cover the Hamas coup, reporting from inside the Gaza Strip.[7] In October 2007, Muir was dispatched to Peru after the worst earthquake hit that country in more than two decades.

In September 2008, Muir reported from Ukraine, more than two decades after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. In April 2009, David Muir and Diane Sawyer reported a 20/20 hour about guns in America getting "disturbing results" as described by the New York Daily News.[11]

In May 2009, Muir's reporting on 20/20 revealed a significant increase in the number of homeless children in America. Muir made multiple trips to the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the BP oil spill. In April 2011, Muir reported from Haiti after the hurricane, and returned to report on the attacks against women.[7]

In June 2011, Muir reported from Tahrir Square during the political revolution in Egypt, and from Fukushima, Japan following the deadly tsunami and nuclear power plant accident. Muir wrote about his reporting from Mogadishu, Somalia, and his subsequent return, "Inside Somalia's Crippling Famine", for the Daily Beast.[12] Muir also anchored several hours of the tragedy in Newtown as it unfolded, and then reported from the scene as President Obama visited the town. Muir also reported from the movie theater mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; from Joplin, Missouri in the aftermath of a destructive tornado; and from Tucson, Arizona after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that left six others dead.[7]

In November 2012, Muir served as one of ABC’s lead correspondents for the 2012 U.S. Presidential election. Muir's interviews with Republican candidate Mitt Romney[13] generated national headlines on the issues of economics and immigration policy in the United States.[14] Muir's Emmy-nominated Made In America series on the American economy is a continuing feature on his broadcast. Muir has brought the series to other television programs, including ABC's The View, where he has served as guest co-host.[15]

In January 2013, Muir reported from inside Iran, leading up to the nuclear talks.[16] Muir was the first Western journalist to report from Mogadishu, Somalia on the famine.[17] Muir and his team came under fire while reporting from Mogadishu. In 2013, he received the Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting.

On June 27, 2014, ABC News announced that Muir would succeed Diane Sawyer as the anchor and managing editor of ABC World News. Muir made his debut broadcast on September 1, 2014. In April 2015, "World News Tonight with David Muir" became the country's most-watched evening newscast, outpacing NBC's "Nightly News," for the first time since Sept. 7, 2009.[18]

Community life

Muir delivered the commencement address at Ithaca College in New York in May 2011, during which he urged graduates to use their voices.[19] On March 13, 2015, Muir received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree and the Jessica Savitch Award of Distinction for Excellence in Journalism from Ithaca College.

On May 8, 2015, Muir delivered the commencement address at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. During the ceremony, he was given an honorary Doctor of Media degree.

References

  1. ↑ "A Sobering Roundup of the Highest-Paid People in TV News - MediaIte". MediaIte. Joe Concha. October 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ "ABC’s David Muir Was The Most-Used Reporter On Broadcast News In 2012". Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. ↑ "12 to Watch in TV News" (PDF). TV Week. December 17, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ "David Muir -- Brokaw, Eat Your Heart Out!". TMZ. March 11, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ Connor, Jackson (November 20, 2014). "ABC News Dominates People Magazine's 'Sexiest Men Alive' List". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ "David Muir: Syracuse native was always on a path to the top of network news". syracuse.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "David Muir, February 14, 2013". ABC News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  8. ↑ Ford, David (February 20, 2013). "ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran". ABC News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ "News Correspondents: David Muir". ABC Medianet. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Accessed February 6, 2010.
  10. ↑ Fung, Katherine (August 24, 2011). "'ABC World News With David Muir' Sees Ratings Improvement". Huffington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  11. ↑ Huff, Richard (April 9, 2009). "ABC News gets disturbing results with 'If Only I Had a Gun'". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ Muir, David (August 8, 2011). "Inside Somalia’s Crippling Famine". Daily Beast. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ "David Muir Mitt Romney Interview". ABC News. July 29, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ Little, Morgan (July 29, 2012). "Romney unsure if he's paid less than a 12.9% tax rate in the past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ "David Muir Brings 'Made in America' Gifts to 'The View'". January 25, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ Ford, David (February 20, 2013). "ABC News Anchor David Muir Reports from Iran". ABC News. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  17. ↑ Fung, Katherine (July 28, 2011). "ABC's David Muir On Famine In Somalia: 'It's Heartbreaking'". Huffington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (7 April 2015). "ABC's World News Steals Most-Watched Crown From NBC's Nightly News". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Davis, Keith. "ABC News Anchor David Muir Urges Ithaca College Graduates to Find Their Own Voices". News Releases. Ithaca College. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

External links

Media offices
Preceded by
Diane Sawyer		 ABC World News Tonight anchor
September 1, 2014–present 		Incumbent
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