At 6:28 p.m. in New York City, a man lopes up two flights of stairs, speeds down the hall, and slides into the anchor chair. At 6:30 p.m., the camera goes live.
David Muir anchors the nation’s most-watched television news program, ABC World News Tonight. Every night more than 8 million Americans trust him to make sense of the day. Like Peter Jennings before him, David is authoritative and dynamic—the first out the door to the story. Iraq’s hunt for ISIS. Hurricanes, fires. He traveled days to hold the hands of starving children in Madagascar and South Sudan, leading to millions of dollars in donations to the World Food Programme.
I think I know what destiny looks like because I’ve seen a photo of a serious 13-year-old boy, talking his way into an internship at the local TV station. Now he’s the anchor chosen for interviews by Popes and Presidents. He shows up calm, respectful, and fearless. I am lucky that my successor is also the irreverent friend I want to hang out with when the camera shuts down. Though I am also miffed that he’s the guy who can leap two flights of stairs, vault into the anchor chair, and never lose focus—or his breath.
Sawyer is a journalist and the former anchor of World News