He’s interviewed the Pope, various presidents, COVID-19 specialists, and given millions of Americans the news. David Muir has become a household name through his work as an ABC news anchor for World News Tonight.
Yet just as with anyone else, his career didn’t start on the top. This is the untold truth about David Muir – a man who certainly loves his job as a reporter.Muir has become one of the most recognizable faces in television via his work as World News Tonight anchor. Each night, millions of viewers watch the 49-year-old’s show. During his career, he’s won several awards for his work – and even his looks.
So how did David Muir get to the absolute top of news broadcasting journalism? Well, it started already as a young child, with Muir having a dream of becoming a journalist.
David Muir – news anchor
This is all you need to know about the well-respected journalist and anchor.David Muir was born Nov 8, 1973 in Syracuse, New York. From an early age, he knew what he wanted to do. And still to this day, he absolutely loves it.
Many children dream of becoming artists, actors or actresses, star athletes or maybe even firemen? But Muir knew that he wanted to be a journalist right from the start. At 10 years old, he built his own news station from cardboard boxes in his parents’ living room, and he never missed watching the evening news.
Talk about being passionate about his future job!
David Muir – start of career
Muir was hungry to know more about the profession of being a journalist. At 12, he started writing letters to different local news outlet, and every day during summer break, he recalled rushing out to the mailbox to see if anyone had responded.
Local journalist and anchor Ron Curtis noticed the great journalistic traits in David – such as never giving up before getting an answer – and he invited him to be an intern at WTVH Channel 5.
“I’ll never forget,” Muir said. “He wrote, ‘Competition in television news is keen. There’s always room for the right person. It could be you.’”
All of a sudden, David had landed himself his first job as a journalist. And he was thrilled. It was the beginning of a very successful career, and early on he learned a lot from people he still considers to be crucially important to his career.
“I was overjoyed to be there, and remember being so happy with the most menial tasks, and I’m just grateful that they allowed me to do it,” he recalls.
First job in journalism
When he graduated with honors in 1995, it was time to get to work. He returned to his beloved WTVH Channel 5 and worked as a reporter and anchor for five years.
He reported both in the US and abroad. For example, he went to the Middle East, reporting from the Gaza Strip and Tel Aviv following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It earned him honors from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, Associated Press and Syracuse Press Club.
Following five years at WTVB, Muir moved to work as a reporter for WCVB in Boston. But in 2003, he was close to his dream upon being offered a job at ABC.
Muir became the anchor of the news program World News Now, and not long after, he became the lead correspondent for ABC. In 2011, he was made the sole anchor of ABC’s weekend show World News with David Muir. Then, just three years later, he got one of the most prestigious jobs in American network TV.In August of 2014, Muir replaced legendary journalist Diane Sawyer, who had led their weeknight program World News With Diane Sawyer.