"The hunt is on" for Diane Sawyer's "Good Morning America" replacement, a Los Angeles Times headline reads.
Several reports indicate that George Stephanopoulos is among the leading contenders to join Robin Roberts as "GMA" co-host. Stephanopoulos will be guest-hosting the program for the remainder of the week and appearing on "Dancing with the Stars," a presumable test for how well he could handle the lighter side of the morning show duties.
The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold reports that, according to several sources, network executives are "intent on finding a male anchor to pair with co-host Robin Roberts and restore the morning show's traditional male-female duo."
Insiders at ABC say Stephanopoulos has expressed concerns about doing the 8am hour as well, which is generally reserved for lighter news. If ABC makes the 7am hour more politically focused to suit Stephanopoulos' strengths, the 8am hour could get a different tone entirely, maybe even with a different host. One potential name that has arisen is soap star Cameron Mathison, who has guest hosted the show before, although we hear it's very unlikely he would be named to a permanent anchor role.
Other names on the shortlist — all currently employed by ABC News — include "World News Saturday" anchor David Muir, "GMA Weekend" co-host Bill Weir and "GMA" news anchor Chris Cuomo, according to Gold's report.
A spokesman for ABC News told the LAT, "The names that are out there frankly are nothing more than speculation." The network told Mediaite, "It doesn't surprise me that those who don't know anything are talking a lot, and those who do know aren't."
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