ABC Person of the Week

ABC Person of the Week is a feature of ABC World News Tonight that began in 1986 and was still running in 2019. It provides a short biography or story of an interesting person, at the end of the Friday night broadcast, thus having high prominence. For news programs, it is a relatively long segment, running three to four minutes. It often features Americans, either famous or obscure, who have inspiring stories involving selflessness, but is not strictly limited in its focus.

Background

The feature has been presented by ABC News anchors including Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Peter Jennings, George Stephanopoulos, and David Muir.

A 1994 study analyzed the people and values celebrated in its first five years, during which the feature was the ending story on almost every Friday night. The study found that values of "individualism, heroism, and unselfishenss were more commonly portrayed than were populism, capitalism, and patriotism". It found more coverage of white, male, and famous persons, with women more likely to have caretaker roles and with Blacks more likely to have humble backgrounds.[1]

The ABC Person of the Week feature and NBC's "Making a Difference" segments have been described as identifying "genuine heroes" who nonetheless "are forgotten" when the broadcast ends.[2] NBC's feature is lesser known, described as "not unlike" the ABC feature.[3] Craig Barto in USA Today described the segment as "A favorite World News Tonight feature of mine was Jennings' "Person of the Week" — a Friday segment that highlighted a person who accomplished something special. What I liked most about the feature is how it often captured everyday, Average Joes."[4]

When completing her 2009-2014 stint as the ABC News presenter, Diane Sawyer "got nostalgic" about the persons and events covered in the segment.[5] David Muir, who replaced her, grew up watching ABC news closely, including "trying to guess who would be named "person of the week".[6][7]

Recipients

People covered on the segment have included:

See also

References
  1. Larson, Stephanie Greco; Bailey, Martha (1998). "ABC's "Person of the Week": American Values in Television News". Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. 75 (3). (excerpt here)
  2. Neal Gabler (April 25, 2014). "Bundy: Counterfeit hero".
  3. Hank Stuever (December 13, 2011). "Chelsea Clinton makes broadcast debut on NBC's 'Rock Center'". The Washington Post.
  4. Craig Barto (August 11, 2005), Editorial/Opinion: Peter Jennings: America's 'person of the week', USA Today
  5. Linda Ge (August 22, 2014). "Diane Sawyer Gets Nostalgic for Final Person of the Week Segment". The Wrap.
  6. David Bauder (September 1, 2014). "David Muir Wants To Get Away From The 'World News' Anchor Desk As Much As Possible". AP / Huffington Post.
  7. Brian Flood (April 14, 2015). "'CBS Evening News' Names Brinda Adhikari Senior Producer". TV Newser.
  8. "A Reason to Dance at the Prom"
  9. "PERSON OF THE WEEK (HALE AND BOPP) #172122". Television News archive. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  10. "PERSON OF THE WEEK (HALE AND BOPP) #172122". Television News archive. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. "Human Rights Leader Jack Healey Reveals the Truth about Celebrities, Government Leaders and Human Rights on September 16". PR Newswire.
  13. Matt Schudel (February 10, 2012). "Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of 'The Last Lecture,' dies at 53". The Washington Post.
  14. "Person of the Week Randy Pausch".
  15. "Person of the Week Angelique Todd".
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