Re: Former WGN sports anchor is new Nightline anchor

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: Marti Brashir had no business being there. : : Bill Weir, former WGN sportscaster, is new 'Nightline' co-host : : : : Bill Weir, a former WGN-Ch. 9 sportscaster and morning anchor, has been named a co-host of ABC News' "Nightline," replacing Martin Bashir, who is leaving to host an afternoon show MSNBC while contributing to "Dateline NBC." : : Weir joins Terry Moran and Cynthia McFadden, who, with Bashir, took over "Nightline" as part of a 2005 makeover after the late-night program's first 25 years with Ted Koppel as host. : : A "World News" correspondent and weekend co-anchor of "Good Morning America" who joined ABC News in 2004, Weir was plucked from Green Bay, Wis., by Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s WGN as a third-string sportscaster in 1995. In three years at Channel 9, Weir parlayed his sharp instincts and quick wit into an anchor gig on the station's popular morning newscast. : : Weir left for a sportscasting job at ABC Los Angeles flagship KABC-TV, lured mostly by the promise of developing other TV projects. But he chafed at being pigeonholed and left when his contract expired in 2002. He was working to develop, produce and sell scripted programs when ABC News, which had kept tabs on him since his Chicago days, reached out to him to come to New York. : : : : "I am more aware than anyone of my unconventional career path to this chair now," Weir told the Chicago Tribune in 2006. "There are second acts in American lives, despite what you've heard." : : ABC News boss David Westin hailed Weir for doing "some of our most innovative reporting from every conceivable venue, both as co-anchor of weekend GMA and for all of our other programs and platforms" in a Thursday memo to staff. : : "He has traveled the globe covering breaking news and uncovering global trends, including his coverage of Afghanistan last January where he came under fire with American troops, his in-depth reports on the economic rise of China and India, and the prime-time hours he’s done on topics ranging from the rise and fall of General Motors to the pursuit of happiness around the world," Westin wrote. "Bill has been at the forefront of our adoption of all that new technology makes possible, often shooting his own material in the field and embracing new forms of reporting now possible in the digital world." : : Like Weir, Bashir joined ABC News in 2004, although he initially worked on the newsmagazine "20/20." He is perhaps best known for his interviews of pop singer Michael Jackson in 2003 and Princess Diana in 1995, originally for British television but airing to huge audiences globally. : : "I've followed Martin's career for many years and have always admired his work," MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in announcing the hire. "He fits in with what MSNBC wants to be: he's smart, original, and thoughtful. I couldn't be happier to bring someone of his caliber to the network."

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