DOESN’T PASS THE SNIFF TEST
Is Diane Sawyer Getting Pushed Out The Door?
By Elizabeth C.
IS DIANE SAWYER THE TARGET OF A PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PUSH OUT ABC’s DOOR?
ABC News is disputing a report in the New York Daily News that the longtime newswoman is nearing retirement. “That is not true,” SVP Jeffrey Schneider told ET in a statement. “And had the Daily News actually asked us if Diane was considering retiring, we would have told them yesterday that it wasn’t true.”
That’s, of course, if someone inside the company didn’t leak the rumor deliberately. Pay attention, kiddies: that’s how some bigwigs operate when they want to undermine a fading talent.
Let’s remember how Ann Curry’s demotion was leaked to Gawker three months before she was reassigned at TODAY.
The rumor comes barely two months after Sawyer appeared to be slurring her words during Election 2012 coverage. Upstarts had a field day speculating about the reasons, with one opportunist starting a mock Twitter account under the handle @DrunkDianeSawyer.
The Daily News quoted an “insider” Tuesday who claims Sawyer “discussed with a few close friends and some people at ABC that she is seriously considering retiring. She said she’ll be ready to hang it up not long down the road. She loves work and what she does and has endless energy, but she’s overwhelmed with personal problems and she is thinking about leaving to take care of her family.” The unnamed source claims in addition to a “personal” issue she’s helping her mother cope with an illness.
“No one wants to see her going through a rough time,” the source said. “She’s the nicest woman. If it’s a co-worker’s birthday, she’ll throw a party. Anything to show everyone a good time.”
Let’s revisit the topic in three months, shall we?
