Joan Lunden offers insight into spirit which guided 'GMA's success

Joan Lunden has opened up about what made Good Morning America such a beloved part of viewers' lives, and why its spirit of warmth continues to define the show decades later.

In a new chat with PEOPLE Magazine, the veteran broadcaster reflected on GMA's enduring appeal and how its approach set it apart from other programs.

“It was really a kind of alternative program in a way,” she recalled.

For those unversed, Lunden anchored the morning show alongside David Hartman and later Charlie Gibson until 1997, spending nearly two decades at the GMA desk.

“Instead of a desk with a blue background, it was a home, and it had browns and oranges and golds, and our logo was a rising sun,” Lunden shared. 

“We had Marvin Hamlisch music to ease you into the day, and the whole sensibility was, ‘From our home to yours.’”

She added, “We even called all the reporters on the show family members. That’s how I started — I was a GMA family member."

"I think it made us all realize that we were part of something much bigger than us,” she concluded.