Kim Godwin, the president of ABC News, is leaving her position at the network, according to an internal memo sent to staff and obtained by The Daily Beast on Sunday night.
Her decision to step down comes three years after she was hired to head the network, a rocky tenure marred by scandals, missteps, and internal strife. The first Black woman appointed to run a national broadcast news network, Godwin had previously been a longtime presence at CBS News, where she’d ascended to become executive vice president.
Godwin said in her Sunday memo that she’d decided to “retire from broadcast journalism.
“Anyone who’s passionate about what we do knows there’s no other business like it, so this was not an easy or quick decision,” she continued. “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.”
Godwin’s exit was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
No immediate successor was announced to replace Godwin, with Debra OConnell, who was tapped to oversee network operations for Disney earlier this year, saying in her own memo that she would run the division in the interim.
“Since assuming this role in February, my goal has been—and will continue to be—to provide this team with the means necessary to build on our success and carry on the proud tradition of ABC News into a future full of opportunity and innovation,” OConnell said.
OConnell, a veteran at the House of Mouse, has spent the last three months conducting a full-body audit of the network and its leadership. Disney overlords handed her purview of ABC News the same day it was reported that Godwin had signed a deal to extend her contract there.
But Godwin was reportedly “apoplectic” after being told she would now have to report to OConnell, a shakeup that curtailed her authority significantly.
The restructuring came after Godwin struggled to usher the network through a series of public-facing challenges, including the decline of flagship show Good Morning America’s ratings.
Another thorn in the network’s side has been the revolving-door departures of on-air stars like Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, who left after their affair became public knowledge, and weatherman Rob Marciano, whose alleged anger management issues prompted his ouster last week.
Earlier this week, it was reported by Puck and CNN that staffers had become increasingly frustrated with Godwin’s mismanagement.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
