Offer at ABC makes history
Kim Godwin would be first Black woman to head broadcast news.
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.
She will replace 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 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 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, after an investigation into her alleged use of racist language when discussing the news division’s employees. The probe followed a report in HuffPost.
Interestingly, it was during 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 its newsgathering operation, including the national and foreign desks and bureaus.
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 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, incluing at KNBCTV in Los Angeles, where she was vice president and news director.