Today's farewell block party on "Good Morning America" holds about as much appeal for Charles Gibson as a trip to the dentist.

For one thing, he's not really going anywhere, other than to ABC's "World News Tonight." For another, he's been through this drill before, coming back to the show less than nine months after another going-away party in 1998.

"I kept the lovely parting gifts," he said.

By executing what by many accounts was a deft power play, Gibson moves to shore up an evening newscast buffeted by tragedy and leaves behind a morning show in transition. Decisions made over the next few weeks will determine whether "Good Morning America" can slug it out on equal terms with "Today" or have to settle for a distant second.

While today's party brings back old favorites David Hartman and Joan Lunden for visits, expect nothing like NBC's three-hour Katie Couric extravaganza.

It's not Gibson's nature. He's a suit-and-tie guy, a reserved newsman. He can be warm -- goofy even -- and melts at talk of family, but it always looked like daddy was home when he filled the screen.

He's plainly the show's rock, said Ben Sherwood, executive producer.

"There are some mornings when he's a lovable grump," Sherwood said. "There are some mornings when he's just plain lovable and some mornings when he's just plain grump. He's very real. What you see is what you get."

Sherwood is relying on arm-twisting and subterfuge to slip things past Gibson for the tribute.

Except for the brief time away in 1998, Gibson has logged 19 years in morning television. That's four presidents, two Gulf wars, one disputed election and an O.J. Simpson car chase ago. Britney Spears wasn't far removed from diapers when he started; now she's changing her baby's.

His mind races back to one day -- Sept. 12, 2001 -- when asked to recall some standout moments.

It was a few minutes to airtime and already hours of preparation and chasing down guests were behind him. He suddenly realized that it mattered little who was on or what they said that morning. What mattered was the tone he and partner Diane Sawyer set, and he'd given no thought to it.

"You could not be rattled," he said. "You could let nothing rattle you. You just needed the sense of 'we're OK.' The second thing I remember thinking was that everything you've done your entire professional life has been in preparation for this moment."

Rather than adding pressure, Gibson found that thought reassuring.

ABC plans to move ahead with the team of Sawyer and Robin Roberts as hosts. Sawyer is eight years into a job she had originally talked about doing for a matter of months. She and Gibson also long discussed leaving together. It's likely she'll stay on at least into next year and see how the competition with Meredith Vieira on NBC's "Today" shakes out.

"Diane does a lot of things by gut instinct, and I think she'll know [when to leave] from gut instinct," Gibson said.

(David Bauder, Associated Press)

NBC using YouTube

NBC will use the YouTube video-sharing Web site to promote its fall television lineup in a strategic partnership that further underscores the Internet's growing role in generating buzz around traditional media shows.

Even with the deal, announced yesterday, YouTube visitors are not likely to find legal clips of "Lazy Sunday," the "Saturday Night Live" parody rap that circulated widely on YouTube and other video-sharing sites before NBC Universal lawyers requested their removal.

Rather, the deal will highlight promos made by or for NBC. They may include clips from new shows or old ones such as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," behind-the-scenes interviews and other features largely exclusive to the Internet. NBC also is sponsoring a contest for fans of "The Office" to create their own promotional videos.

"The distinction between television and video is becoming murkier and murkier," said John Miller, chief marketing officer for the NBC Universal Television Group. "Rather than putting our heads in the sand and saying this doesn't exist, we're trying to jump in and embrace it."

Miller added that the deal helps expose upcoming NBC shows to viewers who may tune out television over the summer but continue to surf the Internet.

YouTube is, by some measures, the leading video-sharing site on the Internet with its 13 million U.S. visitors viewing 550 million pages in May, according to comScore Media Metrix. YouTube says 60,000 new videos are posted daily.

The site lets amateurs and professionals alike post video -- many of them simply unedited footage from video-capable camera phones and digital cameras -- and easily share them with the entire world free.

To the chagrin of NBC Universal lawyers, some users also have posted copyright footage from television shows. YouTube has responded to requests to take down such footage. YouTube's deal with NBC commits that practice in writing, though there won't be any changes in procedures.

Under the deal, YouTube will create a separate channel for NBC video, so that visitors can easily pull up the half-dozen or more items that NBC plans to offer at any given time. It will be similar to channels that other companies, filmmakers and everyday users create.

NBC will sponsor a contest in which fans of "The Office" can create their own 20-second promotional clip -- as long as they don't use any copyright footage from the show. NBC will provide music, graphics and a "how-to" video.

Little money will change hands, although NBC commits to buying an undisclosed amount of ads on YouTube. NBC will also run spots on television publicizing the contest.

(Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press)

Channel surfing

George Hazimanolis, senior director of corporate communications at WQED, was elected to be alternate trustee for the mid-Atlantic chapter of the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, which oversees the regional Emmys. ... Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama master of fine arts screenwriting students Lynne Kuemmel and Mary Unser won bronze Telly Awards for work they did for WQED.

(Post-Gazette TV editor Rob Owen)