tom shales

Diane Sawyer's first night as host of Disney Co.'s ABC World News Tonight was greeted by a lot of fanfare about how little fanfare greeted it. The critics seem to agree that ABC now has an "understated" and "smooth" anchor in the evening news chair.

"Smooth" was the word of choice among TV critics trying to characterize the debut performance of George Stephanopoulos as co-host of Good Morning America. "George Stephanopoulos slid over into Diane Sawyer's co-host seat . . . so smoothly Monday that the most noticeable changes were the hair,...

Ever since it announced plans to create a 10 p.m. nightly talk show for Jay Leno, NBC has said it will give the strategy plenty of time to prove its worth. But reality may be less patient. While General Electric Co. (GE)'s network may be prepared to accept smaller audiences than it's accustomed...