Two-thirds of Americans say they won’t miss Barbara Walters after she retires from TV next year
On Monday, Barbara Walters announced that she would be retiring from television in 2014. This marks the end of Walter’s storied half-century career, which has seen her host Today, ABC Evening News, 20/20 and The View.
New YouGov research shows that most Americans will be OK saying goodbye to Barbara when the time comes next year. Over two-thirds (68%) said they would not miss seeing her on TV while only 24% said they would.
Walters made her name at a time when newscasters enjoyed authority and esteem across broad swathes of the population. In recent years, as the media has become more fragmented and partisan, that kind of broad authority is reserved for very few individuals, as today's poll confirms.
The results reveal how politically polarized Walters' reputation has become. 35% of Democrats said they would miss her while only 17% of Republicans would.
Overall, 29% of Americans said they had a positive of Walters. In comparison with other prominent news anchors and TV journalists, this placed Walters behind Tom Brokaw (35% with a positive impression), Diane Sawyer (34%), Anderson Cooper (34%) and Brian Williams (30%).
Walters does not plan to leave TV entirely. She will continue to executive produce The View and has kept open up the possibility of appearing on TV for special occassions.
Full results can be found here.
