Diane Sawyer Retiring Rumors Dismissed: 'Not True,' Says ABC Exec
Diane Sawyer was believed to be planning to retire as early as this year, but ABC has silenced rumors about the star newswoman on Wednesday.
The distinguished ABC correspondent was reportedly ready to "hang up," but senior vice president of ABC News Jeffrey Schneider cleared the air.
"That is not true," Schneider told Entertainment Tonight.
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Just as fellow iconic news broadcaster Barbara Walters receives treatment for the chicken pox this week, speculation over Sawyer's future mounted.
"She has discussed with a few close friends and some people at ABC that she is seriously considering retiring," said a source at the New York Daily News.
"She said she'll be ready to hang up not long down the road," the insider added. "She loves work and what she does and has endless energy, but she is overwhelmed with personal problems and she is thinking about leaving to take care of her family."
In response to the newspaper's report, ABC's Schneider added, "And had the Daily News actually asked us if Diane was considering retiring we would have told them yesterday that it wasn't true."
Meanwhile, 67-year-old Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program "ABC World News," and she formerly served as co-anchor of ABC News' morning program, "Good Morning America (GMA)."
In 2001, the Ladies' Home Journal named Sawyer one of the 30 most powerful women in America. She also ranked 62nd on Forbes magazine's "World's Most Powerful Women" in 2007. Among her dozens of awards, Sawyer has received the Robert F. Kennedy award for journalism as well as three Emmy Awards for broadcast journalism.
A Twitter user, Sawyer updated her thousands of followers on Monday by replying to a fan.
"Hello from Jurassic Park," posted the newswoman before retweeting "@Ryrylongley: I used to think Diane Sawyer's name was pronounced Dinosaur #childhoodthoughts"
