Ithaca alum to anchor ABC World News Tonight

ABC News has named Ithaca College alumnus David Muir as anchor of “World News Saturday” and co-anchor of “Primetime.” While transitioning to his new duties the week of April 2, Muir will also co-host “Good Morning America” that same week.Muir returns to his alma mater as this year’s speaker in the Jessica Savitch Distinguished Lecture Series, scheduled for April 4. His talk is titled “Witness to War and Disaster: From Hurricane Katrina to War in the Middle East, Giving Victims a Voice.”“This is the kind of job I dreamed of while studying at the Park School a little more than a decade ago,” said Muir. “I remember looking forward to the Savitch lecture every year and to be invited back to take part in the lecture series is truly an honor.”A 1995 magna cum laude graduate of Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communication, Muir later attended the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University and studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain. In 2005, the Ithaca College Alumni Association presented him with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, given annually to graduates who have achieved exceptional professional success and who have graduated in the past 2 to 10 years.Since joining ABC News, Muir has been a lead correspondent on several major breaking news stories. In August 2006, he reported from the Israel-Lebanon border covering the Israeli war with Hezbollah. A year earlier, Muir was inside the Superdome as Hurricane Katrina hit, and he stayed in New Orleans to cover the unfolding crisis. His reports for “World News Tonight,” “Primetime” and “20/20” revealed the deteriorating conditions inside the Convention Center and Charity Hospital.Muir filed reports from Texas during Hurricane Rita and from Florida during Hurricane Wilma. He was on the scene during the catastrophic wildfires in the Midwest and Plains states as well the mudslides in La Conchita, California. In addition, Muir reported from West Virginia on the letters left behind by the coal miners during the Sago Coal Mine tragedy for “Primetime.”Muir has contributed to several in-depth series on “World News,” including “America: Over a Barrel,” “Cancer: Beating the Odds” and the broadcast’s ongoing look at identity theft.Prior to joining ABC News, Muir worked overseas and distinguished himself as an award-winning anchor for WCVB-TV in Boston. He spent a month overseas covering the war in Iraq, and he was the only TV reporter from Boston in the Middle East. Muir’s reporting helped earn the station a National Headliner Award.