The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.

Diane Sawyer was born in December 1945 in Glasgow, Kentucky. Her father was a county judge, and her mother sought to give her the best education possible to inspire her creativity and individuality with “piano lessons, voice, ballet, tap, horseback riding, fencing, classical guitar and children’s theater.”

In 1967, she landed her first broadcasting job in Louisville, Kentucky with the local WLKY-TV for three years. She found the weather to be dull and boring, so she eased her boredom by “offering a line or two of poetry with the highs and lows. A little Emily Dickinson, a little Baudelaire. Whoever was handy.”

From there, she went to assist the Nixon administration after which she returned to reporting for CBS Morning News. She later became the first woman co-anchor in 60 minutes. Eventually, she found her way to ABC and is now set to replace Charles Gibson’s prime time spot.  ABC reports:

Diane Sawyer is the right person to succeed Charlie and build on what he has accomplished,” ABC News’ President Westin said in a statement. “She has an outstanding and varied career in television journalism, beginning with her role as a State Department correspondent and continuing at 60 Minutes, Primetime Live, and most recently Good Morning America.”

A look at Diane Sawyer’s record is quite impressive for any reporter. She has a vast wealth of experience in covering crisis, both foreign and domestic.

Sawyer is also an award-winning investigative journalist, on topics ranging from biological weapons production in Russia to daycare abuse. She brought American viewers a shocking report on the warehousing of Russian children in state-run orphanages; a diary of life inside a maximum security prison for women, where Sawyer spent two days and nights; an investigation into the neglect and abuse at state-run institutions for the mentally retarded; and a landmark investigation into pharmacy prescription errors.

Sawyer’s overseas reporting includes her coverage of the attempted coup in Moscow, when she made her way into the office of Boris Yeltsin at the moment the attempted Soviet coup was at its crisis. During the Gulf War, she traveled to Egypt to interview President Hosni Mubarak and to Amman, Jordan, where she interviewed King Hussein and his American-born wife, Queen Noor. She is one of the few Western journalists ever to report from North Korea on the famine and the government’s attempt to keep it secret

With this impressive record, Diane Sawyer is the most deserving of a prime time news spot out of any anchor currently in broadcasting. I am very excited to see her rise to the top and receive credit for her achievements with this promotion.