ABC's Diane Sawyer: a 'Trainee' at a Whore House?

While investigating legal brothels in Nevada, including the famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch, "Good Morning America" host Diane Sawyer received a bathrobe, the same one that the prostitutes wear. It was embroidered, "Diane: Trainee," this according to a report in Monday's New York Daily News.

Sawyer will host a two hour "20/20" special on March 21 that examines the world of prostitution. The Daily News quoted Bunny Ranch head Dennis Hof, who gave Sawyer the bathrobe, as saying the GMA host "really hit it off with all my girls." The article went on to note that the project languished for two years before finally being scheduled to air. Apparently, disgraced ex-Governor Elliot Spitzer's call girl controversy prompted ABC to finally broadcast this investigation.

Daily News gossip columnists Rush&Molloy went on to describe the internal discussions at ABC:

Sawyer did her best to keep her probe undercover — even though Carson City locals recognized the towering blond anchorwoman and her husband, director Mike Nichols.

But she found that her prudish rivals posed a bigger problem. Some claimed the piece was disgraceful — shameless pandering by the news division for ratings.

Sawyer, it should be pointed out, is the same woman who famously recounted, in July of 2007, how, during jury duty, a courtroom exploded in laughter at her defense of journalism:

Diane Sawyer: "You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, 'Can, you know, can you tell the truth and be fair?' And I said, 'That's what journalists do.' And everybody in the courtroom laughed. It was the most hurtful moment I think I've ever had."