George Stephanopoulos believes journalists should always be ready to seize the moment. He put that idea to the test on a recent Thursday, surprising a student journalist with a call from his personal cell phone just 56 minutes after the reporter sent an interview request.
Stephanopoulos is the anchor of This Week and Good Morning America for ABC News, where he has worked since 1997. Prior to that, he freelanced for the nonprofit news organization Christian Science Monitor and served as White House communications director during the Clinton administration. In this interview, Stephanopoulos shared his unique path to the news industry and gave advice on purposeful communication.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you get started in the news industry?
I took an unusual path into this industry. [When] I first started journalism in college, I worked in my college…
