With Ben Sherwood replacing Anne Sweeney as the head of Disney-ABC’s television properties, the next big question is who will take the helm of ABC’s news division in his place.
The person who gets the job as president will step into Sherwood’s big shoes as he not only led “GMA” to its first win in total viewers versus NBC’s “Today” in 16 years last April, but has since shepherded it on to consistently win both viewers and the key demographic.
He has also overseen the company’s partnership with Yahoo and launched Fusion, the English-language news network for Latinos.
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Sherwood’s successor will most likely come from an internal pool of candidates and reports have suggested that the frontrunner for the job is his No. 2, James Goldston.
TheWrap asked Sherwood if Goldston was his likely successor on Monday, after Goldston’s name was raised in news reports.
“We’ve got a great bench at ABC News of very strong leaders,” he said. “James has been a pivotal part of our team, a trusted advisor, and has helped lead the turnaround at ABC News. I’m fortunate that we’ve got such a strong bench, but that’s not for today. My successor there is not for today.”
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Goldston had previously served as the senior executive producer for “GMA.” In his current position, he oversees all ABC News programs, as well as its executive producers. He also manages the development of new programs for the network.
He joined ABC News in 2004 and found success with “Nightline” and “This Week” before moving on to “GMA.” The British producer formerly worked at the UK’s flagship ITV show “Tonight” and produced the documentary, “Living with Michael Jackson.”