ABC Head Channing Dungey Says Donald Trump Made Her Rethink Programming Strategy

“We haven’t paid enough attention to some of the true realities of what life is like for everyday Americans,” network president says

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ABC Entertainment Group president Channing Dungey reevaluated the way she programs the network following the election of Donald Trump.

“With our dramas, we have a lot of shows that feature very well-to-do, well-educated people, who are driving very nice cars and living in extremely nice places,” Dungey said at the Content Media summit in London this week, per U.K. outlet C21 Media.

“There is definitely still room for that, and we absolutely want to continue to tell those stories because wish-fulfillment is a critical part of what we do as entertainers,” she continued. “But in recent history we haven’t paid enough attention to some of the true realities of what life is like for everyday Americans in our dramas.”

Dungey took over ABC after Paul Lee stepped down from his role back in February. In doing so, she became the first African American woman to head a broadcast network.

She was previously the vice president of drama development. During her time in that role, she helped develop such hits as “Scandal,” “Criminal Minds,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Quantico,” “Army Wives” and “Once Upon A Time.”

She graduated magna cum laude from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. She also teaches a graduate level course in television development at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

Donald Trump for 14 seasons hosted NBC’s “The Apprentice,” a reality show in which a well-to-do, well-educated person who drives very nice cars and lives in extremely nice places picks a contestant out of a group of competing professionals to join him.

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