Barbara Walters to step down as 20/20 co host
NEW YORK(AP) Barbara Walters, who has interviewed scores of the famous and infamous in a legendary television career, said Sunday she will step down this fall as host of the ABC newsmagazine '20/20' after 25 years.
Walters, 74, will do about six interview specials a year for ABC News, including her annual pre-Oscar show. She'll also stay as executive producer and co-host of the daytime talk show 'The View.'
'Starting in September, I want to have more flexibility in my life without the responsibilities of a weekly newsmagazine,' she said in a statement issued by ABC.
The Walters interview, often done with a soft-focus camera and featuring teary subjects, is as much a part of television news lore as Mike Wallace boring in on a crook on '60 Minutes.'
'20/20,' which she currently co-hosts with John Stossel, is likely to continue but be less focused on major interview subjects.
The 'get,' the grab of a celebrity interview subject, is an increasingly important part of network news operations and Walters, along with ABC News colleague Diane Sawyer and NBC's Katie Couric, has been among the fiercest competitors.
Among Walters' major '20/20' interview subjects were Cuban President Fidel Castro, Christopher Reeve after his riding accident, a post-indictment Martha Stewart, Sen. Hillary Clinton about her autobiography, and Patricia Hearst.
Her March 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky drew a staggering 48.5 million viewers.
Walters told The New York Times that she's become uncomfortable with the pressure to find interview subjects appealing to young people who are less interested in news.
'We did Castro and it was a huge interview,' she told the Times. 'But we did much better in the ratings with Courteney Cox and David Arquette.'
Walters was co-host of '20/20' with Hugh Downs until his retirement in 1999. Downs was replaced by John Miller, and Stossel took over when Miller left ABC News.
Walters was upset in 2001 when ABC network executives moved '20/20' from its usual Friday perch to Wednesdays, a change that proved short-lived. The episode only served to make ABC executives look bad and strengthen Walters' hand.
'20/20' is averaging just under 10 million viewers a week this season, up from 8.8 million last year.
Walters was co-host of NBC's 'Today' show for 13 years before joining ABC News in 1976, where she was the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast.
Walters, 74, will do about six interview specials a year for ABC News, including her annual pre-Oscar show. She'll also stay as executive producer and co-host of the daytime talk show 'The View.'
'Starting in September, I want to have more flexibility in my life without the responsibilities of a weekly newsmagazine,' she said in a statement issued by ABC.
The Walters interview, often done with a soft-focus camera and featuring teary subjects, is as much a part of television news lore as Mike Wallace boring in on a crook on '60 Minutes.'
'20/20,' which she currently co-hosts with John Stossel, is likely to continue but be less focused on major interview subjects.
The 'get,' the grab of a celebrity interview subject, is an increasingly important part of network news operations and Walters, along with ABC News colleague Diane Sawyer and NBC's Katie Couric, has been among the fiercest competitors.
Among Walters' major '20/20' interview subjects were Cuban President Fidel Castro, Christopher Reeve after his riding accident, a post-indictment Martha Stewart, Sen. Hillary Clinton about her autobiography, and Patricia Hearst.
Her March 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky drew a staggering 48.5 million viewers.
Walters told The New York Times that she's become uncomfortable with the pressure to find interview subjects appealing to young people who are less interested in news.
'We did Castro and it was a huge interview,' she told the Times. 'But we did much better in the ratings with Courteney Cox and David Arquette.'
Walters was co-host of '20/20' with Hugh Downs until his retirement in 1999. Downs was replaced by John Miller, and Stossel took over when Miller left ABC News.
Walters was upset in 2001 when ABC network executives moved '20/20' from its usual Friday perch to Wednesdays, a change that proved short-lived. The episode only served to make ABC executives look bad and strengthen Walters' hand.
'20/20' is averaging just under 10 million viewers a week this season, up from 8.8 million last year.
Walters was co-host of NBC's 'Today' show for 13 years before joining ABC News in 1976, where she was the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast.
