Will George Stephanopoulos Go Better With My Omelet?

I was prepared to drop my evening news habit this month with the departure of Charlie Gibson on "World News." Gibson was part of my dinner-preparation time, a favorite domestic ritual when I'm home -- folksy and cozy, like a warm oven, glistening plates and long dinner conversations. The capable Diane Sawyer just doesn't inspire me as that kind of a dinner accompaniment. But that's me. Certainly the wise news execs at ABC know better. It's Sawyer's long-overdue reward for her hard, distinguished work. So what if it's my TV loss?

I had accepted the fact that my evening news viewing would become incidental. Basically, if I caught one of the evening broadcasts, cool. If not, I could always listen to National Public Radio in the kitchen. The voices on NPR wouldn't rattle the mixing spoon in my hand like some of the radio and cable yell-it-loud variety. I wouldn't forget to add the rosemary or the oregano because someone cut off a guest mid-sentence.

But that settled state of mind was interrupted when stories emerged that George Stephanopoulos would join "Good Morning America." And now Politico reports that Stephanopoulos' new GMA role may be announced on Thursday. Just as Sawyer strikes the wrong chord when I'm broiling salmon for dinner, Stephanopoulos doesn't seem to fit my weekday breakfast routine like Sawyer, Robin Roberts and Chris Cuomo have done wonderfully for years. Yeah, it's all about the news experience for me. News delivery is everywhere, but nuances either engage me or drive me to escape. (And it doesn't hurt when the news delivery goes well with food -- the Sunday New York Times with brunch, a meaty mag with hot chai . . . You get the culinary picture.)

Stephanopoulos is a well-known political fixture, the former senior adviser in the Clinton administration who understands the sharks in the Beltway shark tank. He aims and fires questions and conveys Washington insider news with ease on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." He's a familiar face at ABC, and could the sage network execs have a GMA remake in mind by replacing Sawyer with him? Perhaps they were thinking along the lines of Politico's observation, that Stephanopoulos has "executed a remarkable series of seamless reinventions." Will Stephanopoulos morph GMA, or how will the broadcast transform him?

As I mourn Gibson's retirement, ABC has added a wrinkle to my television viewing: Will Stephanopoulos go better with my omelet?

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