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This Week With George Stephanopoulos’ Gets New Executive In Charge

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 8:34am PDTTags: ABC News, Robin Sproul, This Week With George Stephanopoulos
Nellie Andreeva

The turnover at the helm of ABC News’ This Week With George Stephanopoulos continues. ABC News president Ben Sherwood just announced that Robin Sproul, who recently marked her 20-year anniversary as Washington Bureau Chief, will also serve as Executive in Charge of This Week. Sandy Cannold, who only took over as executive producer of This Week after the November elections, has segued to a new role as Executive Producer and Senior Business Editor of ABC News, overseeing ABC News’ team of  business and economics reporters/anchors. “Sandy leaves This Week while it is enjoying the best season-to-date ratings in more than three years,” Sherwood said. Still, This Week largely trails its major competitors, finishing third behind CBS’ Face The Nation and NBC’s Meet The Press in total viewers and tied for second with Face The Nation in 25-54 last Sunday. Cannold succeeded Jon Banner, who did an eight-month stint as executive producer before leaving ABC News in August. In another staffing announcement, DC-based Sara Just will become the Deputy Bureau Chief in Washington, reporting to Sproul.

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ABC News Hires Rebecca Jarvis From CBS

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 2, 2013 @ 9:05am PDTTags: ABC News, Rebecca Jarvis

Rebecca Jarvis had been co-anchor of CBS This Morning Saturday and covered financial and economic news, and before that spent three years at CNBC during the financial crisis. Her interview subjects have included former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, … Read More »

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Byron Pitts Moves To ABC News From CBS

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday April 1, 2013 @ 10:15am PDTTags: ABC News, Byron Pitts

After 15 years at CBS News, Byron Pitts is moving to ABC as an anchor and chief national correspondent. ABC News President Ben Sherwood made the announcement today in an email to news division staff. “An … Read More »

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Barbara Walters Poised To Announce Retirement

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday March 28, 2013 @ 10:38am PDTTags: ABC News, Barbra Walters, Big Deals TV, The View
Nellie Andreeva

Barbara Walters RetireUPDATED EXCLUSIVE: After years of speculation, I hear Barbara Walters may be finally ready to hand up her microphone. I’ve learned a plan has been put in place for Walters to announce her retirement, eyed for May 2014. Fitting for Walters’ status as the grand dame of TV journalism and a signature face of ABC News, I hear she would be given a big sendoff with retrospectives and other special content in the weeks leading to her retirement that would celebrate her 52-year broadcast career. Walters had been determined to leave on her own terms, so it is unclear whether revealing the plans would make her change her mind and whether she would go for a full retirement or keep some TV presence with occasional appearances and specials.

Walters has been a trailblazer for female TV journalists, becoming the first woman to co-host a news program when she got behind the Today desk in 1974 and the first co-anchor of a network evening news broadcast when she joined ABC Evening News in 1976. She also anchored ABC News’ primetime newsmagazine 20/20 for 20 years. Read More »

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Bad News For Network And Local TV News

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Sunday March 17, 2013 @ 9:01pm PDTTags: ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NBC News, Pew Research Center, TV News

If you care about news, then the Pew Research Center’s latest annual State Of The News Media report will make you want to cry. Providers across all platforms became “more undermanned and unprepared to uncover stories, dig deep into emerging ones or to question information put into [their] hands,” Pew’s Project for Excellence In Journalism finds. The shortcomings stood out during the election when “campaign reporters were acting primarily as megaphones, rather than as investigators, of the assertions put forward by the candidates and other political partisans.”

Even in a year with an exciting presidential election the collective audience for ABC, CBS and NBC’s evening newscasts fell 2% to 22.1M “resuming the downward trajectory of nearly three decades” after an uptick in 2011. Total audience for local TV newscasts — the nation’s #1 news source – shrank last year in all key time slots except for early morning and across stations aligned with all the networks, resuming a downward trend that seemed to have ended in 2011. Viewing of the evening newscasts that aired between 5:00 and 7:00 PM at the major network affiliates fell 7% last year. One reason: young people are tuning out. About 28% of adults under 30 regularly watched local news last year, down from 42% in 2006. Local news devoted 40% of air time to sports, weather, and traffic, up from 32% in 2005. And just 20% of the stories last year ran at least a minute, down from 31% a decade ago. Read More »

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Writers Guild Of America East & ABC News Reach Contract Agreement

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday March 8, 2013 @ 12:20pm PSTTags: ABC News, Writers Guild Of America East

New York — The Writers Guild of America, East announced today that it reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with ABC News, covering newswriters, producers, assignment editors, promo producers, graphic artists and desk assistants. The agreement provides for 2% increases in pay each year, plus increased contributions to the WGA pension plan. The plan affects approximately 142 ABC News employees in New York and Washington, D.C. The agreement runs from February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2016, replacing the previous agreement which expired on January 31, 2013.

WGAE members will vote to ratify the tentative agreement in the next two weeks.

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ABC News Taps Rick Klein Political Director

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 6:53am PSTTags: ABC News, Rick Klein
Nellie Andreeva

Rick Klein has been named Political Director for ABC News. He will oversee the division’s political unit and help steer the network’s coverage of major news events on all platforms. Throughout the 2012 election cycle, he helped guide World … Read More »

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NYT’s Susan Saulny Joins ABC News

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday February 26, 2013 @ 6:30am PSTTags: ABC News, Susan Saulny
Nellie Andreeva

ABC News‘ raid of the New York Times continues. Following the appointment of NYT national political correspondent yesterday, the network has poached the paper’s Susan Saulny as a correspondent in the Washington bureau. She spent the past … Read More »

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ABC News Hires NYT’s Jeff Zeleny As Senior Washington Correspondent

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday February 25, 2013 @ 6:27am PSTTags: ABC News, Jeff Zeleny
Nellie Andreeva

New York Times national political correspondent Jeff Zeleny has joined ABC News as Senior Washington Correspondent covering Congress and politics. Zeleny, who starts next month, will contribute to all of ABC News’ broadcasts and platforms, including regular … Read More »

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UPDATE: Barbara Walters’ Extended Hospital Stay Due To Chicken Pox

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 28, 2013 @ 8:30am PSTTags: ABC News, Barbra Walters

2ND UPDATE, 8:30 AM: The latest setback comes 10 days after Walters fell and cut her head the night before she was to cover the presidential inauguration for ABC News. She was set to be released last week, but doctors first wanted to get an elevated temperature under control — it turns out that fever was related to chicken pox, which the 83-year-old never had as a child. “So now she’s been told to rest, she’s not allowed any visitors. And we’re telling you, Barbara, no scratching,” Whoopi Goldberg said today on The View. Walters, who was transferred to a NY hospital last week, is expected to be released soon.

UPDATE, JAN 22 AM: Barbara Walters said she expects to be released from the hospital soon after her weekend fall that kept her from covering the inauguration for ABC News. She said today in a statement that she is running a low-grade fever and doctors want to wait until it’s normal before she’s sent home. “Barbara went to Washington to cover the inauguration”, Walters’ The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg said today on the show. “She missed a step and had a fall, which cut her upper temple. The doctors stitched her up and she is doing fine, but they want her to take it easy”. There was no word on when the veteran journalist might return to her network duties. Read More »

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ABC News’ Jake Tapper Moves To CNN

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday December 20, 2012 @ 1:57pm PSTTags: ABC News, CNN, Jake Tapper

ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper is joining CNN as the anchor of a new weekday program and chief Washington correspondent, the network said today. The as-yet unnamed show is to debut in 2013, said CNN. “With CNN’s impeccable reporting during the elections and the exciting changes in the works for the network, this is a perfect time to join the CNN team,” said Tapper in a statement released by CNN. “I am excited about the prospect of working with both the new leadership and some old friends and colleagues.” CNN, which Jeff Zucker takes over at the end of next month, ended up in third place in 2012 among cable news networks, behind both Fox News and MSNBC.

Related: Fox News Tops 2012 Cable New Network Ratings; MSNBC Up Big
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ABC News Sued Again Over “Pink Slime” Reports

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday December 13, 2012 @ 1:21pm PSTTags: ABC News, Jamie Oliver, pink slime

A former worker at Beef Products Inc, the company at the forefront of a series of ABC News reports that said its meat was unsafe — turning the term “pink slime” into a pop culture hit — is suing the network, TV chef Jamie Oliver a food blogger and 10 unnamed defendants, saying the reports and their wake cost hm his job. Bruce Smith was chief counsel and director of environmental health and safety at a South Dakota-based processing plant, and was one of 750 co-workers eventually let go after the reports said company’s meat was not healthy and not even meat — former U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein used the term “pink slime” in a 2002 email after touring a Beef Products plant. Fast food chains soon began severing ties with the company, ultimately resulting in three plants being shuttered and layoffs at corporate headquarters.

Beef Products sued ABC News, anchor Diane Sawyer, reporters Jim Avila and David Kerley, and Zirnstein in September seeking $1.2 billion in damages, an action ABC News says is “without merit”. Smith’s civil suit filed Tuesday in Dakota County District Court in Nebraska is against ABC News, Sawyer, Avila, Oliver and others seeking $70,000. He claims ABC News made untrue statements about the meat product on air, that Oliver used his TV show and social media to target the company, and food blogger Bettina Siegel used her campaign to start a petition drive to get the meat removed from the National School Lunch Program. Siegel told the Associated Press she believed she was protected by the First Amendment. Read More »

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Sandy Cannold Named Executive Producer Of ‘This Week With George Stephanopoulos’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday September 27, 2012 @ 8:37am PDTTags: ABC News, This Week With George Stephanopoulos
Nellie Andreeva

ABC News has recruited TV veteran Sandy Cannold as the new executive producer of This Week With George Stephanopoulos. The move comes a month after Jon Banner, who has been exec producer of This Week since the … Read More »

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ABC News Hit With $1.2B Defamation Lawsuit Over “Pink Slime” Reports

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday September 13, 2012 @ 12:34pm PDTTags: ABC News, pink slime

South Dakota meat processor Beef Products Inc. alleges ABC erroneously reported that its beef product, dubbed “pink slime” by critics, was unsafe, not healthy and not even meat, costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in lost profits. … Read More »

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Tony Scott Did Not Have Brain Cancer: Now ABC Saying Its Claim “Appears In Doubt”

By NIKKI FINKE AND MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday August 20, 2012 @ 5:58pm PDTTags: ABC News, Hollywood suicide, Tony Scott

BREAKING… EXCLUSIVE… UPDATED: Tony Scott’s widow Donna has told police that the famed filmmaker/TV producer did not have brain cancer,  informed insiders tell Deadline. That makes erroneous this morning’s Good Morning America report that he … Read More »

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ABC News On Defensive Over Shooting Coverage: “We Take The Truth Seriously”

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday July 26, 2012 @ 10:30am PDTTags: ABC News, Ben Sherwood, TCA

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TV coverage.

ABC News Colorado ShootingsABC News president Ben Sherwood and Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos spent this morning at the TCAs apologizing and then defending the network’s coverage in the wake of last week’s Colorado movie theater shooting, after a pair of incidents raised questions about its reporting. Sherwood was asked if the pressure to be first on the air with news may be leading to more errors being made at his news organization. “I challenge the assumption that more mistakes are being made,” he said. “All I can say is that ABC News takes the truth seriously.”

Related: ABC News Apologizes For Erroneously Linking Suspected Shooter To Tea Party

Sherwood denied that the network made any error in its characterization of the conversation reporter Matthew Mosk had the morning of the shooting with suspect James Holmes’ mother Arlene, whom the reporter had awakened with the news. Arlene Holmes’ response to the statement “You have the right person” was characterized as a comment about her son. But this week, she said through her attorney that she was referring to herself in terms of them reaching the “right person.” ”It was obviously a very distressing situation for Mrs. Holmes,” Sherwood said. “But we stand behind our reporter’s characterization of what ensued in that conversation and his description of that conversation.”

Related: ABC News Defends Report Of Telephone Interview With Mother Of Suspected Colorado Gunman Read More »

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ABC News Defends Report Of Telephone Interview With Mother Of Suspected Colorado Gunman

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 23, 2012 @ 6:20pm PDTTags: ABC News, Colorado movie theater shooting

ABC News is standing by its report of a telephone interview between the mother of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes and ABC News producer Matthew Mosk in the hours after the deadly movie theater shooting Friday in Colorado. … Read More »

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ABC News Apologizes For Erroneously Linking Suspected Shooter To Tea Party

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday July 20, 2012 @ 9:29am PDTTags: ABC News, Colorado movie theater shooting, Good Morning America

Brian Ross ABC Aurora ShootingBrian Ross hinted at a possible link this morning on Good Morning America. The shooting suspect’s name is Jim Holmes and there is “a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado page on the Colorado … Read More »

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Barbara Walters Apologizes Over Conflict Of Interest In Landing Syria Interview

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday June 5, 2012 @ 6:28pm PDTTags: ABC News, Barbra Walters

Barbara Walters secured the first exclusive American TV interview with Syria president Bashar al-Assad back in December as that nation’s internal strife began to bubble over. Now she has issued an apology after a string of emails surfaced that showed the ABC News icon later attempted to use her influence to gain favor’s for one of Assad’s closest aides, the 22-year-old daughter of Syria’s UN ambassador. According to the UK’s Telegraph, Sheherazad Jaafari, who the New York Times reports Walters said helped secure the Assad interview, stayed in close contact with Walters afterward, and she allegedly asked The View co-host for a job at ABC News. Walters told her that was a conflict, but later she offered to help by sending her resume to Piers Morgan’s show at CNN and reaching out to Columbia School of Journalism professor Richard Wald, the father of Morgan’s CNN executive producer Jonathan Wald. After asking if there was “anything you can do to help” Jaafari gain entrance to the university, the elder Wald replied that he would get the admissions office to “give her special attention”, according to the Telegraph. Read More »

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