David Muir vows he’ll ‘continue to try being better’ as he opens up on future with ABC

David Muir has been hosting ABC’s World News Tonight since 2014 but still loves his job and doesn’t want to stop as long as he can keep learning and getting better at what he does

David Muir hosts World News Tonight daily(Image: ABC via Getty Images)

David Muir has vowed he will “continue to try being better” as he shared his verdict on his future on ABC’s World News Tonight.

The TV host, 51, has helmed the news desk of the program since 2014, covering major events including the killing of Osama bin Laden and, most recently, the conclave which saw Cardinal Robert Prevost become the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The journalist also helped set an all-time record of $9 million in donations raised for the World Food Program through his reporting on climate change from South Sudan and Madagascar – and this year he made it to the 2025 Time 100 list, honored with a tribute by his friend and mentor Diane Sawyer.

David’s career began after he graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in journalism. He initially worked at local news stations in Syracuse and Boston before joining ABC News as an anchor of World News Now in 2003.

He began working on World News Tonight in September 2014, when he replaced Diane Sawyer. But despite having the same job for over 10 years, David said he is still excited for the future as he enjoys that he does – so he doesn’t plan to stop any time soon.

David first joined the program back in 2014(Image: Getty Images)

The news anchor told People, “I think it’s really important to continue to try being better. The moment you stop learning, the moment you’re no longer curious, the moment you don’t believe you can be better than you were a night ago or a week ago, is probably a time to sort of check yourself.

“I still feel like I’m that kid racing into that local newsroom all those years ago. I love this job. I love the people that I interview and get to meet, and I think that journalism is more important than ever.”

Talking about the beginning of his career in journalism, David said he started “writing letters to the local reporters in my town” and when offered opportunities of having internships, he quickly jumped at them. He said during his interview that those experiences were “a defining moment” in his life and helped him reach his career goals over the following years.

“I began interning, carrying all the equipment – and back then the equipment was huge and heavy – and I’d jump into the back of the cruiser and I was honestly the happiest kid,” he said. “Most kids were looking forward to summer vacation and I couldn’t wait to get into the back seat of that cruiser all over again.”

David anchoring World News Tonight (Image: ABC via Getty Images)

Away from our TV screens, David said he enjoys being outdoors – and said at the end of May he enjoyed his Memorial Day weekend trip to his hometown in upstate New York. “When you’re out there on the lake, smelling the same air that you smelled when you were on your BMX bike back when you were a kid, there’s something really fueling about that and connected about it. You just feel like you’re home again,” he said. “I couldn’t have been happier.”

When David was honored by Time in their annual Time 100 issue this year, his predecessor Diane wrote in a tribute to him, “At 6:28 p.m. in New York City, a man lopes up two flights of stairs, speeds down the hall, and slides into the anchor chair. At 6:30 p.m., the camera goes live.

“David Muir anchors the nation’s most-watched television news program, ABC World News Tonight. Every night more than 8 million Americans trust him to make sense of the day. Like Peter Jennings before him, David is authoritative and dynamic – the first out the door to the story. Iraq’s hunt for ISIS. Hurricanes, fires. He traveled days to hold the hands of starving children in Madagascar and South Sudan, leading to millions of dollars in donations to the World Food Programme.

“I think I know what destiny looks like because I’ve seen a photo of a serious 13-year-old boy, talking his way into an internship at the local TV station. Now he’s the anchor chosen for interviews by Popes and Presidents. He shows up calm, respectful, and fearless. I am lucky that my successor is also the irreverent friend I want to hang out with when the camera shuts down. Though I am also miffed that he’s the guy who can leap two flights of stairs, vault into the anchor chair, and never lose focus – or his breath.”