No Ford in ABC’s future

Jack Ford, who had co-hosted ABC’s 20/20 on Monday nights with Connie Chung last year, may be leaving the network soon. In an interview for next week’s edition of TV Guide, Ford indicated that he was lured away from NBC in 1999 by the pledge that he would eventually land the anchor/host job on ABC’s Good Morning America. “And don’t get me wrong,” he remarked, “I think Charlie [Gibson] is terrific, but when I came here it seemed like he would only be at GMA for a short while. Now it seems he isn’t going anyplace.” Ford also criticized ABC network executives for cutting back on their commitment to primetime news, saying that the entertainment division grabbed the time slot for the Monday edition of 20/20 that he anchored with Chung. Ford says that his $1-million-a-year contract contains a clause that allows him to talk to other networks if he is not given a commitment to host or anchor a major ABC News program.