ABC Morning News Gets Name Change

ABC News is changing the name of  World News This Morning to America This Morning effective Monday (Nov. 13).

The move is not to suggest that the early morning broadcast (4:30-5 a.m.) will shift from news of the world to news of the Americas. Instead, is it meant to distinguish the brand from World News (which previously got its own name change from World News Tonight) and to convey the sense of looking forward to Good Morning America rather than recapping the previous night's news.

“When the broadcast first debuted more than two decades ago it was, in many ways, an extension of ‘World News,’ providing a wrap-up of the previous day’s top stories," said ABC News President David Westin in announcing the change. "As news gathering and viewing habits have evolved, the program has established itself as a leader in early morning newws...The new title will more accurately reflect the position and purpose of this broadcast – to present a first look at the day’s national, international, and business news.”

In addition, Nancy Han, senior broadcast producer, has been named executive producer or early morning news content, which includes America This Morning, World News Now, and news in Good Morning America. Han is a former news producer at WNBC-TV who joined ABC in 2004 to produce newscasts for the launch of the weekend Good Morning America.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.