October 4, 1976…Barbara Walters Co Anchors ABC Evening News
40 years ago today, Walters became the first female anchor for a US network evening news program. On her move from NBC’s “Today” show, she was teamed with ABC anchorman Harry Reasoner and the sparks immediately started to fly!
This short clip goes directly to the heart of the conflict and includes footage from that first night. Morbid curiosity was the main reason most viewers tuned in, and after the first week, the ratings bump went away as the dysfunction on screen continued. -Bobby Ellerbee
Correction: Pauline Frederick was host/newscaster (the term “anchor” was not widely used for news presenters) of “All Star News” on ABC-TV in 1951-52, a predecessor to World News Tonight. It didn’t get as much attention as Baba Wawa but Pauline was first. The program did not take off and ABC asked John Charles Daly to “enter and sign in, please.”
I can remember watching, looking to see how her light would be sabotaged. It was consistently awful and obviously, to us lighting types, deliberate.
Lets face it, Harry Reasoner was a sexist pig…
Rooney Arledge said it was like watching a married couple who’d just had a fight. Yet Walters got most of the criticism. Suppose Reasoner got dropped and she had a more willing partner. Her best talents were with interviews.
Reasoner just couldn’t share the anchor desk, gender had nothing to do with it.