20|20 is a news magazine broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. The show was created by Roone Arledge. The original hosts were veteran journalists Harold Hayes and Robert Hughes. That first program was written off as a colossal failure by critics, and Hayes and Hughes were replaced the following week by former game show and Today host Hugh Downs. Downs was later joined in 1984 by Barbara Walters. Downs retired in 1999 and Walters became the solo news anchor until 2002 when John Miller was hired to be permanent co-host of the series. Miller left a year later in January 2003 and was replaced by John Stossel in May, 2003. Walters left the co-anchor position in 2004 to be replaced by Elizabeth Vargas. For a time from 1998-2000, ABC News combined 20|20 and Primetime Live to complete better with Dateline NBC. The editions were called 20|20 Monday, 20|20 Wednesday, 20|20 Friday, 20|20 Sunday, and finally 20|20 Downtown. In 2000 ABC News returned the news magazines to the original 20|20, Primetime Wednesday, and Downtown. The distinctive theme music to 20|20 was written by Robert Arnold Israel and based upon ABC's World News Tonight theme written by Lillian Scheinert.
Among the most recognized and revered television newsmagazines, "20|20" was ABC's answer to CBS's "60 Minutes." Though some stories were humorous, light-hearted and sometimes frivolous features, the meat of "20|20's" programming was investigative reporting many times exposing corporate, medical, educational and governmental wrongdoing, incompetence and criminal negligence and reports on news events of the week from (often) different angles than was seen on the nightly news. Oftentimes, co-host Walters interviewed a prominent celebrity, politician or other newsmaker (among her most famous interviews included her fearless interview of feared Libyan dictator Muhammar Qaddafi; and her inspirational story of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who was interviewed shortly after the Persian Gulf War had ended). The show's regular cast of contributors filed the reports, with the most prolific including John Stossel (who once had his nose broken while interviewing a World Wrestling Federation wrestler), Lynn Sherr, Stone Phillips (before he joined "Dateline NBC") and Catherine Crier. Though most of the reports proved to be factual, some were heralded as sensationalist; others led to allegations of libel while at least one story later proved to be an embarrassing hoax.
