Big Picture
Good Morning, Nicki! Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (699)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (397)
- Twitter Name Change: Introducing @Ted_Casablanca (289)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (223)
Top 10 Stories
- Teen Mom's Amber Portwood Headed to Halfway House Drug Program
- Did Stephen Colbert Shut Down Report Due to Mother's "Serious Illness"?
- One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols Break Up
- Awkward Alert: Jon Stewart's Underwear Joke Hits Close to Home With David Letterman
- Jennifer Lopez Tweets, Then Deletes, Steamy Casper Smart Shot—Check It Out!
- Bobby Brown Rejoins New Edition Tour—Which Touches Down Near Whitney Houston's Funeral
- Gary Busey's Stuff Detailed for Bankruptcy Filing: VHS Tapes, Tepees and Tambourines
- Whitney Houston Remembered by Sparkle Producer: "Almost a Magic About Her"
- Miley Cyrus "Better Watch" Hunger Games, Says Liam Hemsworth
- Colbert Report Mystery Shutdown: Production Suspended Due to "Unforeseen Circumstances"
Fashion Police
Our Partners
Barbara Walters' Record Raise
After fielding offers from the competition, The Grand Inquisitor of celebrities, politicians and interns has opted to renew her contract with ABC News to the tune of $12 million a year over the next five years--a record sum that makes her the highest-paid news personality on television.
"Barbara Walters is one of the most accomplished journalists ever to work in television news," says ABC News president David Westin in a statement. "Barbara has made extraordinary contributions to the national discourse as well as to ABC News and we look forward to this next chapter in her storied career."
The 68-year-old Walters, who joined the network in 1976, will continue to anchor 20/20 Friday, as well as produce and appear on The View. However, her traditional prime-time Barbara Walters Specials will be scaled back to two a year, including her usual round of Oscar-time chats, in which A-list celebs inevitably bawl their eyes out and divulge their deepest secrets to the probing Walters.
Walters, who previously earned $10 million a year, far outpaces her ABC News colleagues Diane Sawyer and Peter Jennings, who both make between $7 million and $9 million a year--about the same as anchors on rival networks like NBC's Tom Brokaw and CBS' Dan Rather.
But perhaps even sweeter for Barbara Wa Wa is ABC's renewed commitment to The View, a show which Walters developed for the network, co-owns under her Barwall Productions banner, and coexecutive produces with Bill Geddie, her producing partner for the past 12 years on The Barbara Walters Specials.
The show has allowed the famous newsie to branch out and show fans a more relaxed, lighter side of herself. She'll continue cohosting chores with Meredith Vieira, Joy Behar, Star Jones and Lisa Ling on the female-oriented gabfest, which has seen a 10 percent increase in viewership since its debut three years ago. The show has also done particularly well for the network in drawing women ages 18 to 49.
0 Comments
Now loading...