[David Muir] I think we all recognize, on this team,
that this broadcast is a living, breathing thing.
When I come in here every day,
I know that where we start at the beginning of the day,
will not be where we end up at 6:30 at night.
[woman] Minute and a half.
And in this moment, in this country, my responsibility is to remain steady...
-[woman] Ten. -...and calm.
[woman] Five.
Here we go.
Good evening, and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy Friday night.
From the moment people wake up in the morning,
there is so much noise that at the end of the day,
if people are gonna take a moment to sit down and watch a half-hour newscast,
then it's our job to, sort of, break through that noise
and to really, really help them, sort of, navigate what matters.
And it's not my job to, sort of, weigh in.
It's my job to deliver on that at the end of the day.
And do we use any of that stuff where
-she's practicing at the hospital to-- -That stuff...
You know, when I think back to my childhood,
I was the kid who'd be outdoors playing with the rest of the kids,
and I would excuse myself when it was time for the evening news,
and I'd go inside and I'd watch Peter Jennings.
And that became, sort of, my own little ritual.
I was a nerd back then.
I'm still a nerd today. It sort of worked out, I hope.
But it was something that I wanted to do from a very early age,
and I don't think at the time I could've put words to it.
I wanted to get outside my world,
and for a kid that just meant getting out in the community.
I mean, I wrote to the local news when I was 13 years old.
Started interning at 14,
carrying all the camera equipment on all the shoots.
And I was happy. I thought I was, you know, seeing the world.
I was just heading to, you know, thunderstorms in the next county
or the New York State Fair,
and all these years later to be in this role, it's an honor.
Those moments when you actually get out into the field,
not only give you perspective as a journalist,
but they fuel me to keep doing what I do every night sitting here.
I do love this part of it too, but I'm really a reporter at heart.
And the more I can get out, the happier I am.
And taking people along on that journey
is part of the reason why we're connecting at night.
Our first report is from ABC's David Muir.
David Muir near the front lines.
ABC's David Muir leads our coverage once again tonight.
Do you think that Iran and America will get along?
You can hear the gunfire just around this wall
as they try to move these extremists...
One of my earliest assignments for ABC News was Hurricane Katrina.
As you can see, we're wading through water almost up to our waists...
I will never forget after the hurricane and after the levees broke
and people were told to go to the convention center
because that's where you'll get food and medicine and help.
And they listened, and they went there, and there was no help.
I remember being in the seat of the car,
and we were driving past these families outside the convention center,
and they were screaming, "We need help!"
And I remember in that moment wanting to, sort of, slide down in my seat
because I felt it was such an invasion of their suffering.
But it was a bit of a turning point for me as a reporter
because I also realized that we were giving them a voice.
I don't wanna die like this.
[Muir] This woman said she's been...
And that's your role in that moment.
And we all saw, you know, the help that eventually did arrive.
And I'm certain in looking back that it was that body of work
from so many of us who were there reporting on Katrina that, you know,
sent out these very loud signals that there were people suffering.
"She's currently undergoing chemotherapy."
At the end of the day, just before the news,
you'll find me, sort of, putting those endnotes in my voice.
"Tonight she has a message for that hospital."
I'm certain in looking back that despite everything that we deal with,
to find some way to communicate that we're all in this together.
That's the piece we do at the end of the broadcast.
Whether it's the America Strong or Made in America or Person of the Week
which I watched, you know, Peter do all those years ago,
and I take great pride in that.
And I know that the team does here in putting the broadcast together.
And making sure at the end there's that connection.
Gimme a hug!
-Looks good. -Thanks!
I think I'm still every bit the kid who dreamed of doing this,
when I come up here every night.
And I still remember my first night saying, "Good evening."
The heartbeat was louder than the actual words.
We'd have to go back to the archive to see what I actually said that night.
Final few minutes before I come on the air,
when I come racing around the corner from the newsroom and up those stairs...
I know that Peter went up those stairs and Charlie and Diane,
and it's not lost on me.
And now it's our responsibility to not only deliver the news at night,
but also to prepare the next generation
because there'll be somebody else who sits in this chair next
who is dreaming about it right now.
And to make sure that when they get here...
Three.
...the responsibility, the privilege,
the honor that comes with this is all still fully intact.
[man] Here we go.
Good evening, as we come on the air tonight,
we'll get to those headlines in just a moment,
but there was yet another breaking story.