CBS News executive Kim Godwin will make history as new ABC News president
Kim Godwin, a CBS News executive since 2007, is on track to become the first Black woman to run a broadcast network news operation, as she has been offered the top job at ABC News, according to people familiar with the plan.
Godwin will fill the position vacated by James Goldston, who departed the news division at the Walt Disney Co. unit last month. CBS has agreed to let Godwin out of her contract so that she can make the historic move.
A Disney representative did not comment on its discussions. A CBS News representative also declined to comment. NBC News reported that Godwin is currently in negotiations for the job as ABC News president.
Goldston’s exit came six months after the ouster of the division’s longtime business affairs chief, Barbara Fedida, who left after an investigation into her alleged use of racist language when discussing the news division’s employees. The investigation followed a report in HuffPost.
Goldston’s exit follows the ouster of business affairs chief Barbara Fedida.
Interestingly, it was under Fedida’s run as head of talent development at CBS News that Godwin moved from one of the network’s owned TV stations to work on the “CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.”
Now Godwin is being brought into ABC News with the charge to repair the division’s culture.
At CBS, Godwin had editorial oversight of the network’s newsgathering operation, including the national desks, foreign desks and bureaus.
CBS ousts two TV station executives after a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered allegations of racist and abusive behavior.
Godwin’s appointment would put women in lead roles at four national TV news operations. Suzanne Scott has headed Fox News Media since 2018. Susan Zirinsky has served as president of CBS News since 2019. Rashida Jones became president of NBCUniversal’s MSNBC cable channel earlier this year, making her the first Black woman to lead a major national TV news network.
Before joining CBS in 2007, Godwin served in a variety of positions at local TV stations. She was the acting news director and assistant news director at WCBS-TV in New York, vice president and news director at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, vice president of news operations for NBC Television Stations and vice president and news director at KXAS-TV in Dallas.
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