ABC

ABC News’ senior foreign affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz is in Yemen this week, delivering a series of “Inside the Terror Zone” reports that will air across all the network’s news platforms.

The series kicked off on “World News” last night. This morning, more than 70 Yemeni soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Sana’a, where Raddatz is reporting from. She appeared with the breaking news on today’s “Good Morning America”:

As TVNewser first reported over the weekend, NBC News anchor and correspondent Amy Robach is joining ABC News as a correspondent, based in New York.

“In her new role, Amy will contribute her engaging and  high-impact journalism to all of our broadcasts and platforms,” wrote ABC News president Ben Sherwood in a memo to staff this morning.

Robach, who officially announced her departure on Saturday’s edition of “Weekend Today,” also appeared on this morning’s show to once again say good bye to the “Today” team.

Sherwood’s memo to staff about Robach, after the jump.

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ABC’s “Good Morning America” has announced the lineup for its Summer Concert Series. Festivities kick off a week from today, May 25, with a performance by Robin Thicke.

The “GMA” Summer Concert Series has taken place in Central Park since 2009. Other acts slated for this summer include No Doubt, Brad Paisley, the Counting Crows, the Beach Boys and Demi Lovato.

“GMA” will continue to announce additional acts throughout the summer. See the full list of performers after the jump. Read more

TVNewser hears Amy Robach‘s next move will be to ABC News. After spending the last 9 years at NBC News/MSNBC, culminating with weekend “Today” this morning, Robach will join ABC News the day after Memorial Day as a correspondent reporting for all broadcasts.

Developing…

When Nik Wallenda, of the famous flying and tight rope-walking Wallendas, makes his way above Niagara Falls next month, what you see on TV will be on a slight delay. In a story in today’s New York Times, ABC says it will put the walk on a delay, just in case:

ABC television plans to broadcast the walk in a three-hour special, but also plans a 5- to 10-second delay, just in case. “We want it to be exciting and thrilling, but we also want every parent in America to hear loud and clear that we’re going to make it comfortable for them to watch with their kids,” said Jeffrey Schneider, an ABC spokesman.

ABC News and Wallenda, a 7th-generation daredevil, came to an agreement last week on broadcasting the walk on June 15. “It’s a return to some of the great events you’ve seen on television over the years,” Schneider told the AP. “I think back to my own childhood and Evel Knievel where literally the whole country would gather around the set and watch one of these extraordinary stunts.”

Media analyst and Syracuse professor Robert Thompson says the element of danger — Wallenda will be untethered, walking without a net — becomes an issue of media ethics. “They’re planning a show where one of the pre-production activities is making sure everyone knows what happens in case this guy dies. The real tension here is not will he get from one side to the other, the tension is will he make it across without dying, and I think there are some real serious ethical issues.”

The death of singer Donna Summer is being remembered on the cable news channels this afternoon. (Even ESPN News made mention, calling Kobe Bryant “the Donna Summer of the NBA. He works hard for the money.”)

Summer, 63, died of lung cancer this morning in Florida.

Summer, known as the Queen of Disco for her songs including “Last Dance,” “Hot Stuff,” and “I Feel Love,” shared her own playlist with ABC’s “Nightline” a few years ago. It includes the first song she ever sang publicly: “I Found the Answer” by Mahalia Jackson.

“I opened my mouth and this voice just shot out of me,” she said. “It shocked me and it shocked everyone in the room. I started crying and everyone in the room started crying and I heard the voice of God say, ‘You’re going to be famous and this is power and you are never to misuse this power.’”

Jake Tapper with Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Jimmy Kimmel went on Howard Stern‘s radio show earlier this week and talked about some of the jokes he didn’t tell at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

KIMMEL: I had some jokes about — like Rick Santorum. I said something like — well, I didn’t say it, but: Newt Gingrich’s campaign is so dead Mitt Romney wants to baptize it and Rick Santorum wants to put it in a jar and show it to his kids.

STERN: You didn’t want any abortion jokes?

KIMMEL: People went like, uh-oh. I ran it by people who go to this thing.

STERN: Who do you run it by?

KIMMEL: There’s a guy named Jake Tapper at ABC News, I ran jokes by him. He’s been there a lot of times. There are a few other people — reporters.

Tapper confirms, telling Yahoo’s Dylan Stableford, “I tried to help Jimmy with the temperature of the room. And yes, I thought that joke would cause the room to turn against him, perhaps even causing a stampede, with the Hilton getting in on the tar and feather concession.”

President Obama’s visit to ABC talker “The View” drew 4.7 million viewers to the program yesterday. While that is very strong for “The View,” it is far less than Obama drew the last time he was on the show back in 2010, when 6.59 million people tuned in.

Nonetheless, the ratings were the show’s strongest since February, 2011.

WATCH a clip from the appearance:

Mike of a Thousand Days he almost was. Mike Allen took a day off from Politico Playbook, the morning political-media-birthday daily digest. And if you noticed a few more links and mentions to ABC News than usual, it’s because ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl filled in.

BREAKING — After 990 consecutive days writing Playbook (including weekends and every holiday), Mike Allen has Gone Fishin’, taking his first day off since August 30, 2009.

This is Karl’s second go and putting together Playbook, the first without Allen virtually looking over his shoulder. The prep started last night, Karl tells TVNewser, “followed by an intense few hours of total-immersion into the day’s news beginning at 4am.”

“It’s great fun to do for a day, but mind-boggling to think Mike has done it for 990 consecutive days,” Karl says.

ABC News is going big with coverage of Queen Elizabeth II‘s “Diamond Jubilee” this Spring. There will be two primetime specials in late May and early June, with “Good Morning America” originating from London that week.

For the first primetime special, Katie Couric will have an “exclusive” interview with Prince William and Prince Harry, who will talk about their grandmother The Queen. The 2-hour special will air Tuesday, May 29 at 9pmET/8pmCT

In addition, ABC has acquired the U.S. rights to “Concert For the Queen: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration,” which will include performances by Paul McCartney, Elton John and Tom Jones, among others. Couric will host that event as well in primetime on Tuesday, June 5.

Kind of a weird coincidence that ABC has an exclusive interview with the Princes, and also paid for the rights to the concert, right?

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