Since 2014, David Muir has been the face of ABC's primetime news coverage with World News Tonight.
The journalist, 52, succeeded Diane Sawyer as the host of the nation's #1 rated evening news show after joining the network a decade prior.
© Getty ImagesWhat does he attribute the show's success to? "After all this time, we have built this profound connection with our audience," he told USA Today in a new interview, noting that people will even see him in public and say things to that effect.
"I hear it when I'm walking down the street. People will say, 'Hey, I feel like I know you.' And I always say, 'You do'," David shared, adding that given how "polarizing" the current landscape of news is, he finds himself with a responsibility to be a voice of clarity.
"I do feel a sense of responsibility in this moment, [amid] all of this incoming noise, to be the place that makes sense of it all − or at least tries to. I consider it a gift to be able to try to connect people to one another, even in what has been a polarizing time for quite some time now," the ABC anchor noted.
"When it's night after night, year after year, never underestimate the audience. They can see how you interact with people, how you embrace them, how you treat them, particularly in challenging moments, and really how you listen to them."
David looked back on the start of his journalistic career, as a teenager interning in a newsroom in Syracuse, New York, who spent his time carrying equipment for their anchors as an enthusiastic 13-year-old wanting to be as close as possible to the action.
© Getty Images"I do believe I'm still that kid, that nerd from upstate New York," he mused. "The 13-year-old intern who went to the TV station and carried all of the equipment to whatever shoot they would send me to. I don't, for a moment, take it for granted − any of it."
"I have as much hunger and excitement about what could come next as I did when I was showing up at that TV station as a kid," David added. Elsewhere in the interview, he reasoned that it's that same hunger that probably explains why people gravitate toward the news.
© Disney via Getty Images"We're meeting people where they are," he noted. "There's an extraordinary opportunity out there to stay connected with the people who have been watching for years, and then grow the audience [and] bring along the next generation."
David continued: "Our viewers will find us through all of the distractions and noise. They have for many, many years, and they continue to do so." While he has high hopes for the future of the show, one thing he's keen not to reveal is who he's planning to interview next.
© Getty ImagesHe quipped: "Well, if I told you, I might not be able to land it. The competition's fierce. Stay tuned is what I'll say to that. We're always working on it."
