ABC News President Jame Goldston is stepping down at the end of March, according to a memo issued to staff on Thursday.
“It’s a really tough decision,” Goldston wrote in the memo according to Deadline. “I’ve loved every day of my 17 years at ABC News, but in recent times I’ve always assumed that after this extraordinary election cycle, which we’ve covered at a full sprint for four years, it would be time for a change. After a great deal of reflection over the last few months, I’m ready for a new adventure.”
Goldston’s replacement has not yet been named and he will be helping in the search for a new one. Goldston has been head of the company’s news division since 2014 and worked in various roles at NBC News prior to that, Deadline reported. (RELATED: ‘The Truth Suffers’: New Project Veritas Video Shows Since-Suspended ABC News Correspondent Alleging Network Has Trump Bias)
“My only regret is not being able to see our newsrooms filled again with people and energy and endeavor before I go, but I will find ways to say thank you to as many of you as I possibly can in the coming weeks,” Goldston added in the announcement.
2. I was told that Goldston would be gone by the spring when I published my investigation on former ABC News executive Barbara Fedida.
This has long been in the works. https://t.co/43yKFsbJzn
— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) January 28, 2021
He will step down on March 31.
Peter Rice, Disney’s chairman of general entertainment content for Disney, reportedly “did not think Goldston was the right fit for ABC News,” according to journalist Yashar Ali, who cited sources on Thursday. (RELATED: REPORT: ABC News Is Laying Off Staffers To ‘Adapt To Changes’ In Business)
“I was told that Goldston would be gone by the spring when I published my investigation on former ABC News executive Barbara Fedida. This has long been in the works,” Ali added, referring to Fedida’s exit from the company after an investigation said she made “some of the unacceptable racially insensitive comments attributed to her.”