After leaving NBC in 1971, Vanocur worked for PBS and as a television writer for "The Washington Post". He joined ABC News in 1977 and worked there until 1991, holding various positions, including Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Senior Correspondent in Buenos Aires, and anchor for "Business World", the first regularly scheduled weekly business program. He covered the 1997, 1998, and 1999 World Economic Summits and was Chief Overview Correspondent during the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. In 1984, Vanocur moderated the Vice Presidential debate between incumbent George H. W. Bush and Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro. He was also one of the questioners in the 1992 presidential debate. He made a cameo appearance as himself in the movie "Dave" and was one of the major performers, again playing himself, in the sci-fi television special "Without Warning" as one of the main news anchors linking the various scenes together.