Diane Sawyer Says Goodbye To ABC World News [Video]

Diane Sawyer has officially bid farewell to ABC World News.

After serving as anchor on the program for five years, Sawyer signed off for the last time on Wednesday evening (August 27). Instead of sending Diane off with a considerable amount of fanfare, she ended her run at the news desk without a lot of attention.

According to People, the award-winning journalist said adios to viewers at the end of last night’s broadcast. However, instead of saying goodbye to reporting altogether, Diane Sawyer is simply shifting gears and focusing her energies elsewhere.

“I just want you to know what a deep privilege it has been to sit in the anchor chair these years… where Peter Jennings created a signature of such curiosity and courage. You and I had a conversation every night. We had some rough stories, but like us, you always believed better will come. The future is one of possibility.”

The New York Daily News explains that Diane Sawyer will begin putting together “investigative” pieces for a handful of ABC outlets. As Sawyer put it, she’s simply moving “down the hall” from ABC World News. She also hopes stepping down from the desk will give her an opportunity to join her family for “dinner more often.”

Now that Sawyer has bid farewell to ABC World News, The Associated Press explains David Muir will officially take over as anchor beginning next week. The network is no doubt hoping that Muir can knock Brian Williams and NBC’s Nightly News out of the top spot. They’re also hoping the absence of Diane Sawyer won’t allow CBS to rise in the ratings.

Unfortunately for Sawyer, this isn’t the only reason she’s making headlines these days. According to Us Weekly, Diane, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour are the subject of a tell-all from Vanity Fair writer Sheila Weller. The News Sorority explores the behind-the-scenes rivalry between Couric and Sawyer throughout their careers. Allegedly, of course.

Check out this excerpt from the book.

“As reporters and communicators of that which was beyond their control — the news of the world — and as women in a tremendously competitive professional arena in which their gender was an impediment, their ability to strongly control what they could control has been central to their success. Each has been self-aware and self-powering in a different way, and their careers offer lessons in female survival.”

Are you disappointed that Diane Sawyer said goodbye to ABC World News?

[Lead image via ABC]