Vargas Replacing Dean On Gma

ABC on Wednesday confirmed the long-swirling rumor: NBC’s “Dateline” correspondent Elizabeth Vargas has been signed to be the news anchor on “Good Morning America.”

Industry speculation has her in line to take over the hosting gig should Joan Lunden decide to leave when her contract expires this year.

“There is no guarantee,” Vargas said Wednesday. “Nobody has even spoken to me about a guarantee to replace Joan or anybody else.” They did tell her, though, that she’s “part of the next generation of people working at ABC News.”

Vargas will start at “GMA” later this month, replacing Morton Dean, who will become a national correspondent for ABC News. She left NBC about a month ago and has been vacationing while her contract with the Peacock Network expired.