20/20 on WCHS-TV8

		Tuesday, Jan 06, 2009 03:17:20 PM

	20/20

	Barbara Walters

	Tom Jarriel

	John Stossel

	John Quinones

	Elizabeth Vargas

	Dr. Nancy Snyderman, M.D.

	Former co-host Hugh Downs

	PROGRAM CONTACTS & FAQ

20/20
Fridays at 10:00 PM on WCHS-TV

The ABC News primetime news magazine 20/20 has distinguished itself as one of the most esteemed programs in broadcast journalism. Celebrating its 23nd anniversary this season, 20/20 continues to combine hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews and compelling human interest and feature stories. The program features the award-winning legend of broadcast journalism, anchor Barbara Walters. For over two decades 20/20 has offered viewers reports and stories that have changes lives.

Featured contributors to the program include ABC News correspondents Bob Brown, Juju Chang, Chris Cuomo, Arnold Diaz, Jami Floyd, Tom Jarriel, Dr. Timothy Johnson, Bill Ritter, Deborah Roberts, Brian Ross, Lynn Sherr, John Stossel and Elizabeth Vargas.

Amid the heated, competitive environment of primetime entertainment, 20/20 has demonstrated its ability to consistently attract a significant segment of the viewing audience by offering viewers more choices and more chances to learn about the world around them.

In past years, 20/20 offered a wide range of reports, including newsbreaking interviews with President Bill Clinton and former Senator Bob Dole, Denise Rich and Linda Tripp, as well as such groundbreaking features as Barbara Walters' profile of the children of gay parents, with former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark in her first television interview about the O.J. Simpson case; and with Mildred Frazer, the mother of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, immediately after her son received the death penalty. In an interview with another key player in the Simpson case, attorney Robert Kardashian sparked controversy (and international headlines) when he shared his concerns with 20/20 co-anchor Barbara Walters about Simpson's role in the murder of his former wife and Ronald Goldman. 20/20 also broadcast a six-month investigation which detailed numerous incidents of the rape and sexual assault of military women and the military's failure to address the problem.

Other 20/20 investigations included a look at how safeguards in the system do not always protect consumers who are buying a new home; a report which focused on allegations that the federal government may have been warned about the bombing of the Oklahoma City Murrah building before the tragedy occurred; and a report on claims of child abuse among members of the Amish community, which offered a rare glimpse into the world of this secretive religious sect.

Consumer segments included important information concerning the efficiency of home smoke detectors, the potentially deadly side effects of popular diet pills; and some of the pitfalls that consumers might face when purchasing a new home. In the past year, Barbara Walters' celebrated profiles included actresses Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow and former Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham.

20/20 has been honored by numerous organizations and societies and has received over 289 awards to date. Included in this list are 46 Emmy Awards, plus one for Sports, two Alfred I. duPont Awards, 16 National Headliner Awards, eight awards from the American Women in Radio and Television, four Clarion Awards, four CINE Golden Eagle Awards, a Gabriel Award with a Certificate of Merit, a George Foster Peabody Award, a Front Page Award from The Newswomen's Club of New York, Inc., an award for Best National News Broadcast on a Psychiatric Subject from the Southern California Psychiatric Society, the Aviation and Space Writers Association Award of Excellence, and the Howard Blakeslee Award of the American Heart Association, among others.

20/20 premiered Tuesday, June 6, 1978, at 10:00 p.m., ET, with co-anchors Harold Hayes and Robert Hughes. A week later, on June 13, Hugh Downs was named the sole host of the show. In September, 1984, Barbara Walters was formally named co-host.

20/20 began its first regularly scheduled season in the Thursday, 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, time slot on May 31, 1979, and moved to Friday nights on Sept. 18, 1987. David Sloan is executive producer of 20/20.

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