Strong Reporting Is Top Priority, ABC News Chief Says

Despite the viewership woes besetting ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight,” ABC News President David Westin insisted Thursday that fostering strong journalism, not ratings, is his top priority.

“Ratings are not the be-all and end-all of the news division,” Westin told television critics at their twice-annual gathering in Pasadena, adding that he has told the staff of “Good Morning America,” “Don’t worry about the ratings. . . . The audience will come if we do the right kind of program.”

The most-watched morning program three years ago, “GMA” now trails NBC’s “Today” by a wide margin and holds a relatively slim advantage over CBS’ perennial cellar-dweller “This Morning.” Last week, “Today” averaged 5.3 million viewers, nearly matching the combined audience for “GMA” and “This Morning,” which drew 2.9 million and 2.5 million viewers, respectively.

ABC officials maintain that they knew the morning franchise would take a hit by replacing longtime anchors Joan Lunden and Charlie Gibson with Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman. Changes continue, in fact, with the network announcing this week that Spencer Christian--the show’s weatherman since 1986--would leave in January to join the ABC station in San Francisco.

“Change is tough on a morning audience,” said executive producer Shelley Lewis. “No morning show in history has ever changed both anchors in eight months.”

Westin--who assumed daily oversight of the news division from Chairman Roone Arledge in June--reiterated that strengthening “GMA” represents his most pressing job. “World News Tonight,” anchored by Peter Jennings, has also ceded its title as the most-watched nightly newscast to NBC.

Westin also noted that ABC has employed safeguards for years to prevent episodes such as the recent controversy surrounding CNN and Time magazine’s retraction of a report regarding the alleged military use of nerve gas on U.S. defectors. The executive added that ABC would not allow one of its correspondents to play the limited role CNN’s Peter Arnett apparently did in reporting such a major story.

“Our correspondents, our reporters, take responsibility for what they do,” Westin said.

Though both NBC and Fox now operate all-news networks, ABC indicated the network has no immediate plans to join in that competition. Westin cited low viewing levels for MSNBC and Fox News Channel as evidence that “the world is [not] crying out for another general 24-hour cable news service.”

Rather, ABC’s expansion strategy focuses on producing additional news and documentary programming for other channels, including A&E; and the History Channel--both of which are partly owned by network parent the Walt Disney Co. Former Los Angeles Times Editor Shelby Coffey III, who joined ABC News as executive vice president last month, is spearheading those efforts.