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Diane Sawyer to host first televised interview with Malala Yousafzai

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:52:00 +0000

Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who became an international icon for women's rights after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban, will speak to "ABC World News" anchor Diane Sawyer in her first televised interview.

The interview will air in October 2013, marking the one-year anniversary of the Taliban's attempt on her life. BBC’s Mishal Husain will also interview Malala in partnership with ABC News. Per the press release, the broadcast of the interviews will be coordinated with the publication of Yousafzai's upcoming memoir, “I Am Malala."

Amanda Knox’s memoir and interview to go forward as planned

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:40:00 +0000

Today, Italy's highest appeal court overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox, the 25-year-old who in 2009 was convicted, along with her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, for murdering British roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy.

The Italian legal system has ordered a retrial for the highly-publicized murder case due to procedural missteps in the original trial. As the AP notes, it's not clear what would happen if Knox was convicted, but it could launch an extradition battle between the U.S. and Italy.

The news comes only weeks before Knox's first television interview, scheduled with ABC's Diane Sawyer. The interview coincides with the release of her tell-all memoir, "Waiting to be Heard," both to take place on April 30.

Though the acquittal adds another (metaphorical, for now) chapter in the book, publisher HarperCollins has a released a statement saying that it will "move forward with the interviews we have scheduled" and release the memoir as planned.

Chris Brown’s “apology song” to Rihanna: A brief history of the pair

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Chris Brown has apparently recorded an "apology song" to Rihanna. In the rapper Tyga's song "F--- for the Road," the R&B singer addresses an unnamed love interest: "I know I make mistakes, I know I f–ked up, but my heart beats for you, baby."

Brown is among the music industry's most popular and resilient stars -- and his public, at least, has largely forgiven him for his beating of Rihanna in February 2009. The pair has slowly circled one another in the intervening four years, as Brown's star has risen and as Rihanna has sent her fans mixed signals about her feelings about Brown. Herewith, a timeline of the pair's very public saga of abuse and squeamish forgiveness.

February 2009

Chris Brown is arrested for beating Rihanna in a domestic violence incident in his car after a pre-Grammys party. Both artists canceled their appearances at the awards ceremony. A photograph of Rihanna's battered face surfaced online shortly thereafter. Other musicians cautiously avoid condemning Brown publicly, with T.I. (a Rihanna collaborator on the song "Live Your Life") saying of Brown, "I told him this too shall pass."

NJ Gov. Christie: My weight no bar to presidency

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:16:00 +0000

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he is "more than a little" overweight — but fit enough to be in the White House.

The Republican governor was asked about his weight problem during an interview with Barbara Walters for her "10 Most Fascinating People" special Wednesday night on ABC.

Walters told the governor some people say he is too heavy to be president one day.

"That's ridiculous," Christie responded. "I don't know what the basis for that is."

Walters said worries about his health were the reason for the concern. The governor then pointed to his widely praised handling of Superstorm Sandy, which has sent his popularity soaring.

"I've done this job pretty well, and I think people watched me for the last number of weeks and Hurricane Sandy doing 18-hour days and getting right back up the next day and still being just as effective in the job," he said. "So I don't really think that would be a problem."

Christie had considered a run for president in 2012. Last month, he announced that he would seek re-election as governor, saying he wanted to lead the state through its post-storm rebuilding and that the one year left in his first term wouldn't be enough to finish the job.

5 newscasters who humiliated themselves on-air

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Was ABC's Diane Sawyer drunk on election night? Unsurprisingly, her reps say no. “Diane’s fine, she’s exhausted,” said a spokesperson. “Diane's been up for days and she's had many sleepless nights. She was covering the hurricane and then preparing for the election broadcast.” Reasonable explanation, though "exhausted" is often a PR code for snoggered. Fix readers took a snap poll and were highly skeptical—with 59% deeming that the anchor was indeed under the influence. Whatever the cause, her slurred request for ABC's election theme song when President “Orama” won Minnesota has earned Sawyer an eternal spot in the pantheon of (alleged) boozecasters.

Twitter asks: Was Diane Sawyer drunk last night?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:38:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- Diane Sawyer's Election Night performance left some viewers asking if she had begun celebrating Tuesday's election a bit early.

Co-anchoring ABC News' coverage, the veteran journalist struck a different manner from her practiced, straight-news-delivering style.

Sawyer spoke more slowly than usual while seeming to prop herself on outstretched arms at the anchor desk she shared with George Stephanopoulos.

"OK," she said at one point around 10 p.m. EST, "I wanna - can we have our music, because this is another big one here? Minnesota, we're ready to project Minnesota, rrright now. ... Well, tonight we know that President Barack has won Minnesota," she rambled on, stumbling over the president's name.

Maybe Sawyer was just weary from the recent torrent of news.

In any case, the Twitterverse took quick notice and began cracking wise.

Her name was soon trending with unflattering posts, while a new Twitter handle, Drunk Diane Sawyer, collected hundreds of followers. An ABC spokesman did not comment.