ABC News President Suddenly Quits Amid Internal Backlash - Trump Celebrates
ABC News president Kim Godwin has tendered her resignation in a move that surprised a number of mainstream media insiders.
There will undoubtedly be some who are sad to see the first black woman to lead a broadcast television news division leave the position — but former President Donald Trump is apparently not among them.
Nor are most of her former staff, according to CNN.
Trump posted to Truth Social just over an hour after The Wall Street Journal broke the story on Godwin’s departure.
“Happy to report that Kim Godwin, Head of ABC, has resigned,” Trump wrote. “Could it be the unfair reporting on EVERYTHING TRUMP? In any event, GOOD RIDDANCE!” (emphasis original).
“Hopefully somebody else will be able to control George Slopadopolous and the rest of the Fake News Thugs over at ABC? Best wishes Kim!” he added.
The former president’s hypothesis notwithstanding, Godwin was known to be a controversial figure at ABC. CNN remarked that the “embattled” Godwin’s “polarizing leadership led to plummeting employee morale,” according to unnamed staffers.
CNN also reported that her departure — or at least its timing — came as something of a surprise. Her Sunday evening memo to staff announcing what the outlet referred to as her “abrupt” resignation was said to have “rocked” the newsroom.
Last week, CNN reported that Debra OConnell, who had been put over Godwin and the news division by parent company Disney in February, was “conducting a review of her performance and had voiced dissatisfaction in private conversations with the state of affairs” at ABC News.
More than 24 staffers and “others close to the network” — who requested anonymity because they had not been authorized to speak with CNN — said Godwin had had a crushing effect on morale in the organization she led.
“Godwin, staffers told CNN, made several profound errors, including employing a hands-off approach to managing, not developing a strategic vision for the newsroom, eliminating the heads of the talent-relations division and appointing an inner-circle that alienated staffers, among a stream of other complaints,” the outlet reported.
In addition, Axios reported that it had heard from other unnamed sources that “the main sentiment felt by staff was that Godwin was more focused on promoting herself as a leader rather than invest time with ABC News’ staff and show teams.”
Godwin’s resignation was apparently effective immediately, as OConnell said she will take charge of the newsroom “for the time being,” according to The Associated Press.
For her part, Godwin claimed to have made the decision on her own to part ways not only with ABC News, but with the entire industry.
“I have decided to retire from broadcast journalism,” the 60-year-old Godwin said in an email to the ABC News staff, according to CNN.
“I have been fortunate and blessed enough to have done almost every job there is in this business,” she added. “But after considerable reflection, I’m certain it’s the right one for me as I look to the future and prioritize what’s most important for me and my family.”
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