ABC Person of the Week is a feature of ABC World News Tonight that began in 1989 and was still running in 2016. It provides a short biography or story of an interesting person, at the end of the Friday night broadcast, thus having high prominence. For news programs, it is a relatively long segment, running three to four minutes. It often features Americans, either famous or obscure, who have inspiring stories involving selflessness, but is not strictly limited in its focus.
Contents
Background
The feature has been presented by ABC News anchors including Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Peter Jennings, George Stephanopoulos, and David Muir.
A 1994 study analyzed the people and values celebrated in its first five years, during which the feature was the ending story on almost every Friday night. The study found that values of "individualism, heroism, and unselfishenss were more commonly portrayed than were populism, capitalism, and patriotism". It found more coverage of white, male, and famous persons, with women more likely to have caretaker roles and with Blacks more likely to have humble backgrounds.
The ABC Person of the Week feature and NBC's "Making a Difference" segments have been described as identifying "genuine heroes" who nonetheless "are forgotten" when the broadcast ends. NBC's feature is lesser known, described as "not unlike" the ABC feature. Craig Barto in USA Today described the segment as "A favorite World News Tonight feature of mine was Jennings' "Person of the Week" — a Friday segment that highlighted a person who accomplished something special. What I liked most about the feature is how it often captured everyday, Average Joes."
When completing her 2009-2014 stint as the ABC News presenter, Diane Sawyer "got nostalgic" about the persons and events covered in the segment. David Muir, who replaced her, grew up watching ABC news closely, including "trying to guess who would be named "person of the week."
Recipients
People covered on the segment have included: