4 months ago
Gio Benitez is hoping to wed nan 2 jobs he holds for ABC News.
As nan Disney unit’s proscription correspondent, he has been adjacent to nan caller activity into backstage abstraction travel. As a recently named co-anchor for nan play version of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” he will grip stories that tie retired viewers’ emotions and attention. He will proceed to grip some roles.
“I’m a abstraction geek,” says Benitez, “and I get to still support connected doing it.”
“I’ll show you what he’s pitching,” says Simone Swink, nan executive shaper of ABC’s A.M. flagship. “He wants to beryllium nan first civilian and journalist connected immoderate nan first ngo to Mars is. That will beryllium our ongoing speech for nan adjacent 5 years.”
“One point I emotion to do is I emotion to analyse nan quality condition, and location are truthful galore ways to do that and truthful galore different stories.” says Benitez. “What I’m excited astir is I’ll beryllium capable to agelong into that territory.”
Viewers are going to perceive a batch much from Benitez starting Saturday. He will subordinate nan program’s play broadcasts alongside existent co-anchors Whit Johnson and Janai Norman.
The anchors are not strangers. Indeed, successful his early 20s, Benitez reached retired to Johnson, tben a CBS News correspondent, for advice. Johnson wrote back. And he continued to cheque successful connected really Benitez progressed successful his career. “Now it has travel afloat circle,” says Benitez.
Benitez has been ABC News’ proscription analogous since 2020 and joined nan section successful 2013. During his clip astatine nan network, he has covered specified events arsenic nan Pulse nightclub shooting, El Chapo’s underground flight from a Mexican situation and nan Boston Marathon bombing. He besides has a history of breaking exclusive investigative stories, and immoderate person led to important information recalls. Before joining ABC News successful 2013, he was a newsman for WFOR-TV successful Miami.
“Gio is an intrepid journalist and talented anchor, and his summation marks an exciting, caller section for nan champion play greeting programme successful nan business fueled by nan tireless activity and dedication of co-anchors Whit and Janai, Simone and nan team,” says Kim Godwin, nan president of ABC News, successful a prepared statment. “I look guardant to Gio’s unsocial power and to Gio bringing much endeavor and characteristic reporting to nan program.”
When he kicks disconnected his tenure connected “GMA” this weekend, Benitez will apt beryllium carrying his grandfather’s pocketwatch, a tribute to his grandparents, he says. “They near communist Cuba pinch absolultely thing and came to this country,” he recounts. “So to beryllium capable to beryllium connected a table that has, rather literally, nan sanction of nan state that gave them truthful overmuch hope, that’s very, vfery inspiring to me.”
The countdown to a imaginable Mars ngo starts this weekend.
