Diane Sawyer, cohost of ABC News' Good Morning, America and co-anchor of PrimeTime Live, is one of broadcast journalism's most prominent and successful female presences. Sawyer began her career as a weather reporter on a Louisville, Kentucky, television station. In 1970, she took a job at the White House on the staff of Presidential Press Secretary Ron Ziegler. She continued her career as a press aide during Richard Nixon's administration until 1974 and then as­sisted the former president with the preparation of his memoirs. She made her transition to broadcast journal­ism in 1978, when she joined CBS News as a reporter in its Washington bureau. When Sawyer accepted the job of State Department correspondent for CBS News (1978-81). she began a career as a popular figure in television journalism; she was the co-anchor of CBS Morning News (from 1981). the co-anchor of CBS Early Morning News (1982-84), and the first woman on the network's flagship public affairs program, 60 Minutes (1984-89), before signing in 1989 a multiyear contract to co-anchor with Sam Donaldson PrimeTime Live on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). In 1999, she took on another job with ABC, in addition to her duties at PrimeTime: cohosting Good Morning, America with Charles Gibson, who also has joined Sawyer as an anchor for the Thursday edition of PrimeTime. Sawyer also has co-anchored 20/20 since 1998 and contributed to many other ABC News pro­grams since joining the network.

In addition to her impressive resume, Sawyer is known for a variety of individual characteristics. Her intelligent reporting and tenacious coverage of the Three Mile Island crisis assisted her in garnering heavy journalistic assignments that, at the time, were considered a challenge to male colleagues working in early morning news. At CBS Morning News, she earned a reputation for skilled reporting as well as her ability to help increase ratings. Her commanding de­ livery helped edge the network's program closer to its rivals in the Nielsen ratings. Her presence and team­ work with Bill Kurtis gave the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) its first healthy ratings in this time slot in three decades. High-profile assignments as corre­ spondent of 60 Minutes established her as a national figure; viewers admired her equally for her personality and her talents as an investigative reporter. Sawyer's skill has contributed to PrimeTime Live's success and its distinct style, and since joining Good Morning, America, she has continued to deliver increased rat­ ings. Washington Post critic Tom Shales remarks that, even though Good Morning, America remains similar to other morning programming, "Sawyer has unques­tionably brought ... a grace and eloquence that elevate the entire program to a level above and beyond the competition."

In the fall of 1994, Sawyer signed a contract grant­ing her a $7 million annual salary, making her one of the highest-paid women in broadcast news. In 2001, her salary remained one of the highest paid to any jour­nalist, an estimated $13 million per year. Although one critique characterized her as "the wann ice maiden," such views may reflect fonns of professional jealously. Margo Howard, entertainment critic of People Weekly magazine, contends that Sawyer "got to the top with a formidable blend of smarts, drive, [warmth], and earnestness." Another characterization of Sawyer as "a girl who is one of the boys" points to her authoritative, intelligent, enterprising manner.

Observers frequently refer to Sawyer's willingness to move between two styles-that of a tabloid journalist and that of the "legitimate" journalist. She oscillates between pieces involving diligent reporting. such as her coverage of the Iranian hostage crisis, and celebrity interviews, such as her interview with the then-married Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. Her "softball" questions to Tonya Harding during the 1994 Olympics, her low-camp interview with Marla Maples (asking whether Donald Trump was "really the best sex" Maples ever had). her interview with the wife of a convicted Central Intelligence Agency spy. and her brief. heavily promoted and news-free en­counter with Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin during the 1987 coup contribute to the "tabloid" label.

Although  the  critiques  are  valid  to  some degree,Sawyer's distinctive personality has helped PrimeTime Live and Good Morning, America move toward un­ qualified success and produce millions of dollars in profits for ABC. All four major networks have sought her services,  and  she  has  become  a "brand name," a person the viewers remember, and a television person­ality who can deliver ratings. She remains one of the most visible news figures in U.S. television.