Kim Godwin resigns as president of ABC News

ABC News President Kim Godwin is leaving the network just three months after Debra O’Connell was appointed to oversee ABC News operations and evaluate Goodwin’s performance.

Mr. Godwin resigned Sunday night, announcing his resignation in an email to staff saying, “I have decided to retire from broadcast journalism.”

“Anyone who is passionate about our business knows that there is no other business like it, so this was not an easy or quick decision,” Godwin continued. . “However, after much consideration, I believe it is the right choice for me as I look to the future and prioritize what is most important to me and my family.”

In a memo to staff, Godwin added: “I am stepping down with pride and wishing the entire team every success.”

No one has been named to replace Mr. Godwin at this time.of wall street journal We first reported the news on Sunday.

Named Godwin ABC News President In 2021, she will become the first Black woman to lead the news division of a broadcast network. Prior to her joining ABC, Godwin served as executive vice president of CBS News.

O’Connell, who was promoted to president of Disney Entertainment News Groups and Networks in February, has spent the past three months evaluating the network’s operations and soliciting input from staff on its current leadership structure.

When O’Connell was appointed to his new role, it was immediately clear who was in charge: Godwin, who had recently renewed his contract with the network, and Chad Matthews, president of ABC-owned television stations. Report directly To Mr. O’Connell.

When O’Connell was first appointed, Godwin said in a memo to staff that the consolidation under her would allow ABC News to “build on the great work that all of us produce every day.” I wrote Deaf.

However, during his short tenure so far, Mr O’Connell was reportedly very disappointed in Mr Godwin’s leadership.

According to CNN, Godwin’s style at ABC News is relatively free, which O’Connell said is a reason for the internal problems. Oliver Darcy. Darcy also reported that O’Connell was unhappy that Godwin had not hired a replacement a year after the station’s head of talent, Galen Gordon, was fired.

And on Tuesday, ABC News meteorologists rob marciano He abruptly left the network after 10 years as a regular contributor on weekend and morning shows. ABC News declined to comment on the nature of his exit, but according to Page Six, Marciano was previously banned from Good Morning America for making his co-workers uncomfortable on set. It is said that

daily beast reported that a “heated shouting match” between Marciano and a “Good Morning America” ​​producer was the “last straw” for the meteorologist and led to his firing.

ABC staffers are also concerned that leadership does not have a clear plan for the future of ABC News as linear television struggles in the streaming era.

“As with the final days of Chris Licht’s tenure at CNN last summer, it is clear that Ms. Godwin will lose her seat and that her leadership position is no longer sustainable,” Darcy wrote. Thursdayreferring to his own network’s internal power struggle in 2022, which ended with a similar inevitable ouster.