David Muir is being honored with a special recognition alongside many of his peers, including his close friend and fellow ABC News colleague Robin Roberts.
The two anchors were named by LGBTQ+ critics group GALECA as among their top ten on-air news anchors working today, with over 500 critics voting for their picks.
The news was revealed in a press release on Thursday, October 24, with a blurb about David, 50, specifically citing his efforts during the moderation of the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
It read: "The ABC World News Tonight anchor impressed many viewers when he firmly fact-checked some of Donald Trump's most outlandish fabrications during Trump's presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris."
"A former international news reporter for ABC, Muir has trekked the globe to investigate famine in Madagascar, the Israel-Hamas war, and more. He also manages to co-host his network's newsmagazine show, 20/20."
For Good Morning America's Robin, 63, their release states: "As co-host of ABC's Good Morning America and special reporter for the network's World News Tonight, Roberts has touched hearts with her accounts of facing cancer, a rare blood disorder, and witnessing her Mississippi hometown's devastation by Hurricane Katrina."
© Getty Images"Her recent interviews with newsmakers like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and WNBA star Caitlin Clark have only boosted her reputation as one of America's most thoughtful on-air journalists. Earlier this year, she received the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism."
Others named in the list include NBC News' occasional Today anchor Jacob Soboroff, veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour, Jonathan Capehart, Rachel Maddow, Kaitlan Collins, Mehdi Hasan, Lester Holt and CNN's Anderson Cooper.
READ: Robin Roberts, Anderson Cooper, Gio Benitez: the LGBTQ TV anchors leading the charge
While David has been a popular news anchor for years now, leading one of the most watched news shows on primetime TV with World News Tonight, his profile received a boost with his turn as one of the moderators of the debate back in September.
© Getty ImagesAlongside colleague Linsey Davis, their on-the-spot fact-checking for both candidates and crisp line of questioning attracted many new fans, plus a much wider audience thanks to the buzz surrounding this year's election.
MORE: David Muir puts rarely-seen family members in the spotlight with new photos
His first appearance post-debate was on his good friend Kelly Ripa's talk show LIVE with Kelly and Mark, telling the husband-wife duo that they "know me better than anyone" when they expressed surprise that they even got him to do the show.
© Getty Images"I basically disappeared for the end of the summer because of the weight of this debate," he explained, diving into the amount of time he spent off the grid to prepare for the big night.
MORE: David Muir joins GMA as he takes on important role alongside hosts — but where is Robin Roberts?
"You take it seriously, Linsey and I, and this extraordinary small team we have at ABC, and we spent a lot of time. And I believe it was our duty to ask about the issues that Americans care about."
© Getty Images"All of the noise that you hear afterward, about which candidate won the debate, the moderators win or lose, that's just noise. You all know that. The most important thing to remember is that you all have the power."
