Kimberly Godwin To Be Named Head Of ABC News
Issue #54
Kimberly Godwin To Be Named Head Of ABC News
ABC News has been sailing without a captain since James Goldston’s departure last month, but all of that is about to change as the news network is on the verge of announcing Kimberely Godwin as its next president.
Godwin, who is currently the executive vice president of CBS News, would become the first Black woman to run a broadcast news network and the fourth high-ranking female executive in the TV news world joining Suzanne Scott at Fox News, Rashida Jones at MSNBC, and Susan Zirinsky at CBS News.
Neither ABC News nor CBS News has confirmed the impending move, but once it’s made official one of Godwin’s first tasks would be to repair the internal image of the news division which was damaged as a result of former business affairs chief Barbara Fedidia using racist language when talking about fellow ABC News employees.
Despite being on contract Godwin, who has been with CBS News since 2007, is unhappy there and it looks like the news organization would not obstruct her departure.
At ABC News she will report directly to Peter Rice, the chairman of general entertainment content for Disney. Rice, who instituted a major reorganization of his domain, has made the news division a bigger priority of his and it looks like even though Godwin will be in charge of the operation, Rice will be closely looking over her shoulder.
From an on-air standpoint, Godwin may not change much at Good Morning America and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir as they are both running smoothly and dominating in the ratings, but it is expected that she will add her stamp to the two shows.
Over at CBS News, Godwin’s departure will likely leave a big hole within the organization as the word is Zirinsky, who was appointed to her role in late 2019, may also be on her way out and the network will have the unenviable task of filling out two key positions.
(NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Yashar Ali/Twitter, Variety)
RECAP
Netflix Gets Streaming Rights To New Sony Movies
With Disney, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, and ViacomCBS all pulling their film content from Netflix to boost their own streaming services — the streamer has had to rely on its own movies, smaller movie studios, and/or international films to fill that void. All that’s about to change as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Netflix announced a five-year deal that sees Netflix securing exclusive U.S. rights to Sony’s films once they leave theaters and premium video-on-demand services. The deal begins in 2022. (New York Times)
Backlash Erupts Over CBS News 60 Minutes Report
Last Sunday CBS News’ 60 Minutes aired a story about Florida Governor Ron Desantis and $100,000 donation that the grocery chain Publix made towards DeSantis' re-election bid. The story suggested that through the donation Publix influenced the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution operation. After the airing of the story Desantis’ office, the Democratic director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the Democratic county mayor of Palm Beach County all said that the partnership with Publix came about without any outside influence. 60 Minutes, though, is still sticking with its story. (CNN Business)
Paul Pierce Is Out At ESPN
As a media personality your personal life is your personal life, what you do within the confines of your home is none of the public’s business. However, when your home activities are broadcast for all to see on Instagram Live — which is what retired NBA player Paul Pierce did when he broadcast his house party that featured exotic dancers two Fridays ago, then your personal life starts to clash with your outside life and most of the time your employer will not be happy that you chose to share that aspect of your life. Pierce who worked for ESPN, which is owned by Disney — an organization that imbues a wholesome, squeaky clean image, was quickly shown the door ending an almost four-year run with the network. (Front Office Sports)
QUICK RECAP
MSNBC and CNN legal analyst Midwin Charles has passed away. (TVNewser)
Former ESPN anchor Adnan Virk is joining Meadowlark Media. (Michael McCarthy/Twitter)
NBC News promotes Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins to senior reporters. (TVNewser)
Alex MacCallum joins CNN as head of product and GM of its direct-to-consumer division. (Ben Mullin/Twitter)
Mike Pompeo is named a Fox News contributor. (Brian Steinberg/Twitter)
Anthony Scaramucci joins CNBC. (Charlie Gasparino/Twitter)
NBC News correspondent Bill Neely announces his retirement. (TVNewser)
CBS News, NBC News, CNN, PBS, and Vice are among the 2021 Deadline Club Awards finalists. (Deadline Club)
CNN announces the hiring of Katie Bo Williams, Gabby Orr, and Isabel Rosales. (CNN Public Relations/Twitter)
Morgan Radford joins streaming news service NBC News Now as an anchor. (Variety)
DAZN is considering an IPO. (Front Office Sports)
The wall-to-wall coverage of Prince Philip’s death was too much for UK viewers. (Deadline)
CBS lets go of two CBS Stations executives. (TVNewser)
Getting to watch baseball is getting harder this year due to distributors dropping RSNs. (Forbes)
Profile: CNN’s Jim Acosta from the White House to weekend news anchor. (Variety)
NBC News’ MTP Reports launches its second season. (Mediaite)
WarnerMedia CEO says in 2022 movies will debut in theaters first before they stream on HBO Max. (Vox)
ESPN’s Michael Eaves on covering his dream assignment — The Masters’. (Front Office Sports)
Netflix’s Formula 1 series Drive to Survive is coming back for season four. (Sports Pro Media)
Brooke Baldwin begins to promote her new book Huddle as she prepares to depart CNN. (The Lead CNN/Twitter)
Newsy expands to linear TV. (TVNewser)
Nielsen and TV networks are engaged in a battle over pandemic viewership numbers. (Variety)
Former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann wants you to get the COVID-19 vaccine. (Forbes)
Hulu unveils its new brand redesign. (MediaPost)
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota says goodbye to New Day. (New Day/Twitter)
Advertisers are skeptical about Peacock as it enters year two. (Business Insider)
Wrestlemania is expected to bring in subscribers for Peacock. (Sportico)
People are watching the Derek Chauvin trial. (New York Times)
Baylor vs. Gonzaga was the second least-watched title game. (Austin Karp/Twitter)
CNN is too fixated on its ratings. (Columbia Journalism Review)
Stanford vs. Arizona was the most viewed NCAA women’s basketball championship game since 2014. (ESPN Press Room)
ESPN’s The Jump returns to the studio. (NewscastStudio)
Fox News jumps ahead of CNN in year-to-date ratings. (Forbes)
Sinclair’s Bally Sports Nets are facing distribution and programming challenges. (Sports Business Journal)
Netflix and Amazon’s global subscription dominance drops. (MediaPost)
Greg Norman believes he was the fall guy for Fox Sports’ failed 2015 US Open coverage. (Front Office Sports)
ESPN execs intervene in the Dan Orlovsky and Kirk Herbstreit online beef. (Awful Announcing)
This is the lawyer protecting the Murdochs’ interests at Fox Corp. (New York Times)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - issue #54 - 2021