“Viewers come up to me to this day and say, ‘I prayed for you,’” Roberts said, her voice betraying the emotion. Roberts still keeps a close watch on her immune system. She contracted the blood and bone marrow disease from treatment for breast cancer. Roberts had chemotherapy and was off the air for five months starting in 2012 after undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat MDS. It's a remarkable, perhaps inadvisable, schedule for someone who has faced down health difficulties She insists she feels great. The New York-based Roberts in the past few weeks has flown to London and back for coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's death - twice - gone to Los Angeles for tapings of her Disney+ interview series “Turning the Tables,” traveled to Mississippi for a family function and did a round trip to Ghana for “GMA” stories. “I get weepy when I think of how I beat the odds,” she said. I don't know if I can take credit for it.”Įven after she'd been working on “Good Morning America," Roberts said she was aware of doubts among some ABC News executives that she wasn't right for the job because her background was in sports broadcasting, not news.ĭon't think she's forgotten that, even as some of the naysayers have since apologized to her. “I definitely feel like he has loosened up. Thirteen years in, Stephanopoulos “is laughing more than I've ever seen him laugh,” said Michael Strahan, who joined the pair as a host in 2016. Westin wanted Stephanopoulos for those days. Morning shows have their share of frivolity, cooking and celebrity segments, yet also need to be ready when a big story breaks. “You think about whether the fundamentals are good. “When you put things together you don’t think about how long it will last,” Westin said. Westin believed he was ready for a bigger stage. Stephanopoulos, who started at ABC News on Inauguration Day 1997, was an entrenched Washington insider from his days in the Clinton administration and as host of “This Week,” a job he retains. “It took a fair amount of persuasion,” Westin recalled. It's been an incredible experience.”īut, yes, he estimated he turned down then-ABC News President David Westin's job offer three times when the network was looking to replace Diane Sawyer. We've had a lot of fun and great success and covered a lot of consequential things. They've presided during a time “Good Morning America” took over from “Today” as the most popular morning show and have kept that distinction for a decade, yet also as the shows diminished in audience and influence. Between doubters and serious health issues, the longevity is a meaningful achievement. “We wear very well together, George and myself,” Roberts said.Īsked about the feat, Stephanopoulos laughed and made reference to his age (he's 61).
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