Not that it was easy for Pitts to leave “60.” It was his dream job one he had prayed for as a teenager watching the late Ed Bradley. I love her style.” Like Pitts, Sawyer had walked away from “60 Minutes,” where she had been the first female correspondent, to join ABC. “She’s a gifted journalist, a trailblazer, with real humanity in her work. “I’ve always been a huge, huge fan,” he gushes. (When it comes to wooing talent, Sawyer learned from the best - the late, great Roone Arledge. At ABC’s initiation, the two met for lunch. It’s just no longer possible.”Īs for Diane Sawyer, Pitts has long admired the “World News” anchor. Anyone who says they can’t find talented people of color or women for these jobs is lying to themselves or lying to the people they’re talking to. If our mission statement is to cover the world, we need to look like the world.”ĭitto for the cable news networks, whose all-white prime-time lineups Pitts labels as “shameful. ABC News has a total of 29, says division rep David Ford.īecause Pitts “cares deeply” for CBS, he wants his alma mater “to be reflective of the America we all live in. “Īccording to CBS News spokesperson Sonya McNair, CBS has “more than double” Pitts’ estimate of seven correspondents of color. America is becoming more diverse, not less diverse. Sixteen years ago, when I joined CBS, there were 10 people of color on the air. They were certainly nice and supportive of me.
As for CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and his lieutenant, David Rhodes, here’s how Pitts puts it: chieftain Les Moonves have discussed diversity, and he admires Moonves’ passion about it. “It was encouraging to have a network executive talk to me, openly and with enthusiasm, about the importance of racial diversity,” says Pitts. In his talks with ABC News president Ben Sherwood, Pitts says he was impressed that Sherwood made a point to bring up his (Sherwood’s) commitment to the hot-button issue. In the Gospel According to Pitts, diversity ranks a strong No. I’m grateful for my time at CBS, and I’m excited about this opportunity grace has provided.” “Once I felt I had His blessing, it was full steam ahead. “For me, God is the ultimate closer,” he says. He signed a four-year deal with a “significant” salary bump, he says.Ī devout man, Pitts prays over all major decisions. In addition to reporting, Pitts will anchor prime-time news specials as well as fill in as news reader on “Good Morning America” and on weekend news. Pitts, 52, the lone correspondent of color on “60 Minutes” and a CBS staffer since 1997, officially joined ABC yesterday as chief national correspondent. CBS News veteran Byron Pitts says he jumped ship to ABC for three reasons, in order of importance: “God, diversity and Diane Sawyer.”
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