A new Gallup Poll pegs ABC’s Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson as TV’s most popular personalities.
So why didn’t Sawyer and Gibson, who were teamed for years on “GMA,” overtake rival morning show “Today” with such public goodwill?
“Having a high favorability does not necessarily predict high ratings,” says Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport.
“Diane was at the top of the list and, even though she was with Charlie, for the most part, on ‘GMA,’ they didn’t beat the ‘Today’ show,” Newport says.
“It goes to show there’s more to these programs than likability.” The poll, released yesterday, ranks well-known TV personalities in terms of the “favorable” or “unfavorable” impression they leave on viewers. It’s the first Gallup Poll of its kind.
Sawyer racked up a leading 88 percent “favorable” impression, followed at 87 percent apiece by Gibson, who now anchors “World News,” and fellow anchor Brian Williams (NBC).
Missing from the 17 names in the poll are several TV big-shots, including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Kelly Ripa (Ripa’s co-host, Regis Philbin, is included).
“There was no stock methodology in choosing the names,” Newport says. “It was strictly editorial judgment.
“Our initial motivation was to look at the personalities changing jobs and the shifts in TV . . . and to include the core personalities doing the [job] shifting this summer.” The results were culled from phone interviews with 1,001 adults, 18 and older, who were randomly chosen from Gallup’s “nationally representative household panel” and called from July 24-27.
So who’s at the bottom of the list? That would be Star Jones, whose noisy departure from “The View” apparently didn’t do much to boost her flagging popularity.
Jones can take some solace in the fact that she was nearly matched in the “unfavorable” category by Rosie O’Donnell (65 percent), who joins Star’s old show next month.
Matt Lauer tied in favorability with his new “Today” cohost, Meredith Vieira, while Bob Schieffer, currently anchoring the “CBS Evening News,” scored a more favorable impression than his successor, Katie Couric – who finished below ex-CBS newshound Dan Rather.
Who do you love?
Ranking TV personalities by how favorably viewers perceived them.
Source: Gallup Poll Good Bad
Diane Sawyer (“GMA” host) 88% 12%
Charles Gibson (ABC News anchor) 87 13
Brian Williams (NBC News anchor) 87 13
Bob Schieffer (Temp. CBS anchor) 85 15
Anderson Cooper (CNN’s “It” guy) 83 17
Meredith Vieira (“Today”) 81 19
Matt Lauer (“Today”) 81 19
Lou Dobbs (CNN) 78 22
Regis Philbin (“Live” and more) 75 25
Dan Rather (Former CBS anchor) 73 27
Katie Couric (Future CBS anchor) 72 28
Barbara Walters (“The View” den mom) 70 30
Larry King (CNN talker) 66 34
Bill O’Reilly (Fox News talker) 56 44
Geraldo Rivera (Fox News stalker) 37 63
Rosie O’Donnell (“The View’s” future) 35 65
Star Jones Reynolds (“The View’s” past) 30 70