Before his keynote address at PRSA’s ICON 2024 on Oct. 15 in Anaheim, Calif., Gio Benitez, ABC News transportation correspondent and co-anchor of “Good Morning America” Saturday and Sunday, talked with PRsay on a variety of topics, including what he looks for when working with PR professionals.
Morning TV news shows blend hard news, entertainment and lifestyle content. How do you balance these elements while ensuring the integrity of the broadcast?
One of the things that I love about morning television, and why I fell in love with morning television, is that it reflects how we are as humans. And it sets you up for the day.
Sometimes, we’re going to have very serious stories. When you turn on “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m., you’re going to see a lot of hard-hitting stuff. Some of it isn’t easy to watch.
But we recognize that it’s the morning. People are getting ready for the day. I like to think of it as, “Here’s also some information that will maybe make life a little bit easier for you. And maybe you’ll get a little joy out of the show.” I think that blend is really important and it’s what makes morning TV so fascinating.
Here, Benitez discusses the most exciting and/or challenging part of working on a morning show compared to other TV news formats:
I think it’s important that we have a candid relationship with each other. Because we’re all humans. We’re not computers. We don’t need form emails. We can have an individual relationship and talk like humans. [Doing so is what] sets PR professionals apart — [the ones] who break through that inbox and get to us.
Sometimes, even if the story that we’re approaching a PR professional about isn’t one that the PR professional wants to talk about, when we have the context to work with, that makes all the difference. If you want the fairest representation, [then providing us with a story’s] context is important.
Looking ahead to 2025, what trends do you see on the broadcast news horizon?
We are all trying to figure out streaming. We’re putting together amazing programs on our streaming channels. We have “ABC News Live,” which is now 24/7. More and more people are cutting the [cable-TV] cord. We’re trying to meet people where they are. And where they are is all over the place. The biggest trend is figuring out how to reach as many people as possible on all those different platforms.
[Jim Cowsert/Grapevine Photo]
