CNN’s Jim Acosta Leaves White House Scrum for Weekend News Battle

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJulie Townsend, longtime head of communications for ABC News, will leave the Disney unit as it prepares to welcome a new president.Townsend, a VP who has supervised outreach on behalf of flagship news programs ranging from “Good Morning America” to “World News Tonight,” will leave May 14 “to lead global consumer communications at an iconic American company” that she said in a memo to staffers would be revealed at a later date.“This was not an easy decision to

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Llamas, the popular former ABC News anchor, has joined NBC News as a primetime anchor for its NBC News Now live-streaming service.Llamas will work as a senior national correspondent and will also contribute reporting to the network’s flagship shows and breaking news and special events coverage.

He plays Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in Line of Duty and is intent on proving his former boss Chief Constable Philip Osborne has links to organised crime. However, the rival stars of the hit BBC show left the drama on-screen as they took to the golf course on Saturday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorABC News will offer a portrait of the life of George Floyd in a two-hour “20/20” slated to air April 23 at 9 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorABC is looking for a new producer to open the network for business each morning.The abrupt departure of Michael Corn, the seasoned news producer who has managed the network’s flagship A.M. franchise, “Good Morning America,” since 2014, means ABC News is suddenly working a little harder to keep the program on its current path.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNeeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon have been named to lead a new unit that combines CBS News and CBS local stations.Khemlani, a senior executive at Hearst Newspapers, will be the next president of CBS News, charged with raising the competitive level of a news organization that is associated with giants of the format such as Edward R.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS, ABC, NBC and other TV networks want the company that audits their audiences every day to submit to an audit of its own.The VAB, an industry group that represents the TV networks to Madison Avenue, is demanding that Nielsen, the arbiter of TV ratings, submit to a third-party audit from Ernst and Young, the latest salvo in a battle between to the two sides over how TV audiences were counted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAfter a tough year, NBCUniversal’s news operations aim to honor people who provide inspiration.NBCU News Group will launch a new content franchise designed to call attention to influential individuals. “Inspiring America” includes an annual primetime TV event.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe recent procession of top news executives shifting positions at ABC News, MSNBC and CBS News gives many in the close-knit world of TV journalism cause for hand-wringing.In recent months, NBCUniversal named a new executive, Cesar Conde, to head all its news operations, replacing Andy Lack. Conde in turn named a new president at MSNBC, Rashida Jones.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKimberly Godwin, a veteran of local and national TV-news operations, will be the next president of ABC News  — and the first Black executive to run a broadcast-network news operation.Disney on Wednesday confirmed that Godwin, who has been with CBS News since 2007, will take over the role most recently held by James Goldston.

Since leaving the White House, Donald Trump‘s life has turned into a “grievance Groundhog Day,” CNN’s Jim Acosta says. “It seems he gets up every day, gripes about the election, then wakes up the next day still a loser,” the anchor remarked April 11 on CNN Newsroom. Acosta was addressing a New York Times report that Trump lashed out at Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence, and more during a profane speech to RNC donors at Mar-a-Lago the night prior.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS News veteran Kim Godwin is expected to become the next president of ABC News, a move that would make her the first Black executive to lead a broadcast-network news division.Godwin has had an offer from Disney’s ABC for several weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter, but only in the last few days did CBS CEO George Cheeks agree to let the executive out of her contract.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News Media named former U.S.

Britney Spears has uploaded a video which spectators believe includes a secret clue about her wellbeing. The pop sensation shared footage of her changing her outfits with her 3.5 million TikTok followers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDisney’s search for a new leader for ABC News continues weeks after the company unexpectedly disclosed the former president, James Goldston, would leave the post.Goldston’s last day came at the end of March and the company has yet to hone in on a candidate to replace him, according to four people familiar with parts of the search process. When ABC News heads like David Westin or Ben Sherwood left in years past, Disney identified a successor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMorgan Radford will join Aaron Gilchrist as a co-anchor at live-streaming outlet NBC News Now, the latest example of NBC News adding resources to its streaming-video operations.Radford and Gilchrist will co-anchor the service between noon to 2 p.m. Her first appearance as co-anchor on the outlet came on Monday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEach weeknight, Fox News Channel’s primetime opinion hosts seek to own the libs. Greg Gutfeld says he wants to own some laughs.In an unorthodox maneuver, executives at the Fox Corp.-owned cable-news outlet will explore whether jokes and satire can capture a crowd after 11 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAnchor Bret Baier has renewed his contract with Fox News Channel, extending a pact that was last negotiated in 2019.The deal will keep Baier at the network for the next few years, and will maintain his roles as anchor and executive editor of the Fox Corp. network’s “Special Report” and as the outlet’s chief political anchor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Nation seems eager to expand its chief export.The streaming service, originally conceived as a place for “super fans” of Fox News Channel, has in recent months been filling its digital shelves with a show led by Nancy Grace; faith-based shows tied to Easter; and vintage movies and TV series.