As the NY Times reported that David Westin was resigning from his role as President of ABC News, a pair of emails were released from Westin and Anne Sweeney, President of Disney/ABC TV confirming the departure.
The first is from Westin:
Dear Colleague,
A month ago I told Bob Iger and Anne Sweeney that the time has come for me to step down as President of ABC News. Leading you has been a great privilege and a solemn responsibility—a responsibility that I tried to fulfill for over thirteen years by doing what I believed was best for this important news organization. I will root for your continued success long after I am gone.
I’ve always admired those few who know when it’s time to move on. This is the right time for me. Over the last nine months, we’ve put in place new anchors on all of our programs. At the same time, we went through a very difficult transformation made necessary by changes in our business and its economics. I am confident ABC News is better positioned for the future than it has been at any time since I came here in March of 1997.
As rewarding as I’ve found my time here, there are some other things I want to do professionally—things that I cannot explore while fulfilling my responsibilities here. I’m announcing my decision now so that I can pursue those possibilities, something I couldn’t do in fairness to all of you until I’d told you of my plans to step down. I have agreed to remain your leader through the end of the year to ensure that Anne has the time she needs to find the right successor and that there is an orderly transition. So, I’m not going anywhere for the time being. I will need your support during this interim period to make sure that we continue to move forward.
I have only the highest regard for the company of which we are a part, for its leadership, and – most important – for all of you. I am grateful for your letting me be part of this great organization for so long.
David
Here’s Sweeney’s email:
For the past 13 years, David proved himself a tireless advocate for ABC News, effectively guiding the group through some of the most seismic industry, and divisional, changes imaginable. During that time, he helped reinvent our News organization, and positioned us for great success going forward. While it will be sad to see David leave,his desire to pursue other professional endeavors is understandable, and commendable, and I know you’ll join me in wishing him nothing but the best. I’ll be announcing a new leader for ABC News in the near future.
Anne
Westin’s departure was seen as inevitable after the struggles he had with Sweeney and Iger over funding of ABC News. A recent layoff of 1/4 of the staff appears to have been the final straw that caused him to submit his resignation.
If you ask me, ABC News hasn’t been the same since Peter Jennings ruled the editors desk. There has been too much emphasis on telling stories that entertain rather than educate or inform. When you’re a serious news organization, it doesn’t matter if your evening broadcast is number one or not, but if your stories are the ones being talked about as making a real difference, then the viewers will come.