Eva Pilgrim will take up anchor duties at CBS‘ syndicated newsmagazine “Inside Edition” starting in the fall, throwing talent plans for her current home, ABC News‘ “GMA3” into question as the Disney network tries to make that afternoon program more a part of its overall “Good Morning America” franchise.
“We feel like we won the jackpot to have Eva join our team as the next anchor of ‘Inside Edition,” said Charles Lachman, the program’s executive producer, in a statement. “She has solid news chops from her years as a reporter and anchor in national and local news, plus a warm relatability that resonates with audiences. We look forward to having a journalist of her caliber take ‘Inside Edition’ into its next chapter.”
Deborah Norville has anchored “Inside Edition” since 1995, backed up by Mary Calvi, a longtime correspondent for CBS’ flagship New York station WCBS. Norville recently retired.
“Inside Edition” is one of TV’s longest-running syndicated newsmagazines, having launched in 1989. In its earliest days, the show competed with similar tabloid TV newsmagazines such as “Hard Copy” and “A Current Affair,” and was hosted by Bill O’Reilly, who would go on to have a long career at Fox News Channel.
Pilgrim will only be the fourth anchor of the program, and will take its reins in the fall.
Her exit will draw new scrutiny to “GMA3,” an afternoon news program that has had several incarnations since debuting at ABC in 2018. The show has long been viewed as a way to expand the network’s massive “Good Morning America” franchise, and help it compete more directly with NBC’s “Today,” which sports four hours of programming each weekday and more on weekends. The show launched as a lifestyle-news vehicle with Michael Strahan and Sara Haines, but pivoted to a more headline-driven format during the coronavirus pandemic.
“GMA3” seemed to thrive when it was led by co-anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, who were bolstered by medical and health reporting from Dr. Jen Ashton. But the program came under intense scrutiny when a romantic relationship between Holmes and Robach was unveiled, and ABC News executives failed to manage the imbroglio well. In recent years, Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan have led “GMA3,” but ABC News has subjected it to cost-cutting, dismissing its executive producer and integrating it with staffers tied to “GMA.”
Pilgrim joined ABC News in 2016, working her way up to “GMA3” and a role as a senior national correspondent. She got her start in local news by working at stations in Bluefield, West Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, and attended the University of Florida and the University of South Carolina. She is also the author of a 2021 children’s book, “Walter Does His Best.”
“Anchoring ‘Inside Edition’ is truly a dream job,” Pilgrim said in a statement. “I have been an avid viewer and fan of the show for many years. I’m pinching myself that I get to work with this amazing team. It’s truly an honor to join a show with such a long, rich history.”
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