In 2020, the ﻿Associated Press﻿ called David Muir "broadcast television’s star of the
summer." But how much do we really know about the current host of ABC World News Tonight?
﻿It's time to discover the untold truth of this famous newsman.
Muir's path to becoming a journalist began at the age of 12. As he told IES Abroad in 2014,
"As a boy, I remember watching television news and hoping one
day I would be lucky enough to have a job that would take me to far away places."
He would watch the local nightly news in Syracuse,
New York, which was anchored by Ron Curtis. Muir wrote to Curtis to ask
how to get into the business of reporting the news on TV, and Curtis responded,
"Competition in television news is keen.
There is always room for the right person. It could be you."
So Muir approached his local station, WTVH, and earned himself an internship. He also conducted
interviews as a high school student. At the time, he could be seen wearing braces and rocking a New
Kids on the Block-style haircut. Despite a geeky voice, he commanded the screen with
professionalism and polish. One of Muir's lifelong friends told Syracuse.com that he
once donned a trench coat for Halloween to dress up as a reporter. She also revealed,
"He knew he was going to be in New York City. He'd say,
'I'm going to be the next Dan Rather.' He knew."
"I feel like I'm very much the same kid I was when I was 13
and going to the TV station for the first time."
"You always wanted to do this."
"I always wanted to do this."
One surprising fact about David Muir is his command of the Spanish language.
When he was in college, he was able to immerse himself in the language and culture of Spain
while studying abroad at the University of Salamanca. This experience provided invaluable
practice for a future career in world traveling to chase a story. As Muir told IES Abroad,
"Studying abroad was a chance to take a break from my academic discipline and flex a different
kind of muscle learning a language and exploring a tiny corner of the world
I had never imagined I would temporarily call home. For a budding reporter,
it was a sort of practice run for assignments that would one day take me all over the world."
Once his semester abroad ended, Muir returned to his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College
in upstate New York, but he continued to study Spanish, and he still uses it today.
For example, when ABC News teamed up with Univision for a new cable network called Fusion,
Muir's language skills came in handy.
After interning at WTVH, Muir later earned his first full-time reporting job there,
and he learned one of the best pieces of advice in his life during that job.
When a veteran reporter noticed he was having a hard time with a story, some words of wisdom
were offered up. As Muir recounted to the Washington Post, the reporter told him,
"Well, to get the story, you've just got to get out there and get the story."
It may sound like simple common sense, but for Muir it was an important tip
about the value of getting out of the newsroom. During his time in Syracuse,
he earned the "Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Television Interview" honor from the
Associated Press. He then went on to land a job as a reporter for WCVB-TV in Boston.
Muir's journey to becoming the world-class reporter that he is today was also shaped by
his trip to New Orleans to cover Hurricane Katrina. This experience included watching
people screaming for help from the safety of a rental car. As he told The New York Times,
"I remember wanting to slouch down in the back seat because it felt like an invasion
of their suffering. But as difficult as it is - and as deep as the suffering might be
that you're witnessing - that camera lens in the window is going to give them a voice."
In 2019, Muir told USA Today,
"There's no such thing as a typical workday."
But one thing he does do every morning is check his phone,
or rather, his phones. He reads the notes from his editors and also watches the news
from his competitors to see what everyone else is reporting on. His days are filled with meetings,
conversations with producers, and more research. He told USA Today,
"I can honestly say that this newscast is a living, breathing thing [...] I
think there’s an expectation today that if people are going to take time out of their
own busy lives to watch us at 6:30, that we owe it to them to break through the noise."
How does Muir wake up and put in all this hard work every day?
His energy is fueled in part by caffeine. As he told Vanity Fair, his favorite vice
is a 20-ounce Starbucks coffee with a shot of espresso, which he calls a "venti red eyes."
In 2014, Muir received the biggest promotion of his career when he took over as lead
anchor of ABC World News Tonight. His immediate predecessor was legendary journalist Diane Sawyer,
so he had some pretty big shoes to fill. Before the upgrade,
he had been ABC's weekend anchor. In 2014, he told Syracuse.com,
"I often say that my job is to keep Diane's chair warm two days a week.
And it's an honor to do that."
When Sawyer decided to step down, the ABC News team knew they didn't have to look very
far for their replacement. As ABC News president James Goldston told The Washington Post in 2020,
"When Diane said she was ready to step down, it was essentially a non-decision."
Regarding why Goldston thought Muir attracted so many viewers,
he cited his empathy and natural optimism. This can be seen in Muir's closing segment "America
Strong," which focuses on stories about people who demonstrate courage or are otherwise heartwarming.
Muir is part of a long line of classy men who have served as nightly TV journalists. As such,
he always looks his best every evening in front of America. His typical uniform consists of trim dark
suits, simple white shirts, and solid dark ties. He described his personal style to Vanity Fair as
"classic but understated." Outside of work, he wears jeans from the stylish French brand A.P.C.
and Randolph gold-framed aviator sunglasses. Part of the allure of these particular shades
is the company's decades-long contract with the United States Air Force.
Cinephiles may recognize them on Robert Redford in the 2001 thriller Spy Game.
Muir's style inspiration also comes a bit from TV. He's admitted to binge-watching the AMC period
drama Mad Men, as it reminds him of his childhood growing up in Syracuse. And sure enough, Jon Hamm
dons a pair of Randolph aviators as lead character Don Draper. With all this attention to sartorial
detail, it's no surprise that Muir was named one of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2014.
Like every other TV host in 2020, Muir had to adapt to restrictions caused by the COVID-19
pandemic. Many journalists were forced to begin working remotely. Luckily for Muir,
he had a broadcast-ready setup in his home in the West Village of Manhattan.
But most of the time, he still goes into the office every day to do the show in the ABC
studio along with a skeleton crew. In April 2020, he told The Washington Post that it's
a day-to-day decision whether or not he'll make the short trip to the studio, but as he put it,
"As long as I can come in, I will."
The process seems to be working, at least if viewership numbers are any indication.
In July of 2020, World News Tonight led all shows on broadcast and cable for the week
in total viewers, adults 18-49, and adults 25-54.
Muir offered his explanation for the high ratings by telling The Washington Post,
"The answer to the anxiety people are feeling isn't to deliver a portrait
that is rosier than reality. [...] When the pandemic hits is not the
time to try to build up trust. It has to be in the works for a long time."
One of the job duties of a TV news anchor is exploring the world and
bringing viewers along for the ride. As Muir told The Washington Post in 2020,
"I've always believed in going where the story takes you, to be there and breathe it in."
He believes that his popularity has been built up in part by
inviting viewers along as he trots around the globe. Some of his notable treks have
included traveling to Iraq for reporting on the Islamic State and to Auschwitz, Poland to
talk with survivors of the Nazi concentration camp 75 years after their liberation. In 2011,
he had the honor of traveling to South Africa to interview First Lady Michelle Obama.
He's also been dispatched to hot spots of the world like Egypt, Haiti, and Japan.
"You're one of these rare people,
you're like at the desk and you're somehow in the field at the same time."
Muir has also taken some time to reflect on the stories that have
most affected him. In 2014, he told IES Abroad,
"It is impossible to choose which story has had the most impact on me because
so many of them have left me profoundly moved. It's always the people. Last year,
I traveled to Ethiopia to report on an American doctor performing a simple cataract surgery."
Muir remembered witnessing parents who hadn't seen their own children for years
after a successful operation. He admitted,
"I will never forget the mothers with tears streaming down their faces
ululating the moment they could see again."
It can be a bit of a burden to report the news on a daily basis. But outside of work,
Muir does his best to clear his head. He played sports as a young boy,
and he nowadays enjoys playing tennis. In 2015, he told Vanity Fair,
"My backhand is better than my forehand, which isn't saying much."
He's also not exactly shopping at the most high-end of athletic stores,
as he bought his racket at a Walmart in upstate New York. To stay in shape,
he likes to hit the gym and hop on the treadmill. While Muir is breaking a sweat,
he's also using the time to dive into another one of his hobbies by listening to music. He
loves the "Teen Party" playlist on Spotify, which he admits may sound ridiculous, but he's confident
that those curated songs are what everyone will eventually be listening to within a few months.
Another one of his favorite playlists is the "Global Top 50," which helps power
him through his workout. His tastes include such pop hitmakers as Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
as well as the Whitney Houston cover of "Higher Love." As he told USA Today,
"Every day, I find a new song that I love."
And in addition to his workouts and his music, he also has his dog Axel to help him decompress.
David Muir's success on TV is nothing to scoff at. Under his anchorship,
ABC World News Tonight earned the number one spot in the 2019-20 season with an average of 9.385
million total viewers. What do all those eyeballs mean for Muir's income? They certainly seem to be
having a positive effect. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he reportedly makes $5 million per year
as anchor of the show. This puts his net worth at an estimated $20 million.
With his big paycheck coming in, Muir decided to pick up a piece of land for some peace of mind.
As reported by Syracuse.com in 2019, he purchased a $7 million home on Skaneateles Lake,
which is one of the Finger Lakes in New York state. It also happens to be right near his
sister and her husband, who run an organic farm in the same area. Muir told Syracuse.com,
"This job takes me all over the world, and I can't think of a better place to catch
my breath [...] It's always been my dream to spend more time back home with family."
"I think when I go home to upstate New York, I'm always reminded that
people have a lot more in common than what divides us, and we're all worried about the same things."
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