Charles Gibson, commonly referred to as Charlie Gibson, is the anchor of ABC World News with Charles Gibson, formerly known as World News Tonight. He was previously co-anchor of the ABC morning show, Good Morning America ((1987–1998; 1999–2006), and has been a correspondent for ABC since 1981. He took the helm of ABC 's nightly news show on May 29, 2006, when it was consistently being beaten in the rating's by NBC's news broadcast. With Charlie as anchor, ABC and NBC are now viewed as equal in the ratings war, taking turns as the ratings winner in the 25-54 age group.
Fast Facts:
- Full name: Charles deWolf Gibson
- AKA: Charlie Gibson
- Born: March 9, 1943
- Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
- Raised: Washington, DC
- Alma Mater: Princeton University
- Spouse: Arlene Gibson
- Children: Jessica and Katherine
- Occupation: Television journalist
- Salary: $8 Million
- Vocal fan of the Washington Redskins
- Endowed a scholarship at Union College in honor of his father, Burdett Gibson
- Endowed at scholarship at Shenandoah University in honor of his late brother, Lang Gibson
Philadelphia Democratic Debate
Gibson co-moderated the Democratic debate on April 16, 2008 before the Pennsylvania Primary with George Stephanopoulos. They were criticized after the debate for asking too many questions that were perceived to stress the political controversies between Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, rather than substantive issues.
Quotes:
- "To the extent that I have a theory of life, it's that you try to prove to your parents that you're worth a damn."
- After being rejected by Yale Law School: "I was arrogant enough to think that if I didn't get into the law school I wanted, I wouldn't go to any...I hadn't a clue as to what I was going to do, except I did think it would be intriguing to go into television news."
- About ABC News: "You can't work for an organization for as long as I have and not come to have a deep and abiding love for the place...I've always said the day they fire me, I'm going to write a letter and say it's been a great, great run. And so far, they haven't done it."
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Charles Gibson Timeline
1943: Born on March 9 in Evanston, Illinois.
1955: Moves to Washington, DC, where he attends Sidwell Friends School.
1965: Graduates from Princeton University.
1966: Worked as a producer for the RKO Radio Network.
1966: Joins the Coast Guard reserves.
1966: Leaves RKO to be a reporter/anchor for WLVA in Lynchburg, Virginia.
1970: Moves to WMAL-TV in Washington, DC.
1973: Received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities
1975: Hired by ABC as a reporter.
1987: Joins Good Morning America as co-anchor with Joan Lunden in February.
1998: Leaves Good Morning America in May.
1999: Rejoins Good Morning America as co-anchor with Diane Sawyer in January.
2006: Assumes anchor chair on ABC World News Tonight