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Shattered By The Glass Ceiling?
Kim Godwin’s tenure at ABC News was not just marked with a tumultuous, unwelcome sign but also with a ground-breaking achievement. She shattered the invisible glass ceiling, becoming the first Black woman to lead a major American broadcast news network.
Godwin is a 1984 graduate of the famed Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) School of Journalism. In April 2021, ABC News hired Ms. Godwin to lead the 80-year-old mega news organization amid the Summer of Protests.
Was Ms. Godwin a victim of reverse DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion), or just plain the “good ol’ boys” network? There are reports that Kim Godwin used to focus too much attention on her Alma Mata (FAMU), America’s third oldest HBCU. FAMU is the most prominent HBCU in terms of student body.
Is it ever fair game to call competency into question? During the George Floyd protests, ABC News (a Walt Disney Company) hired Ms. Godwin in 2021. Could Walt Disney have selected a more qualified African American? America is saturated with supremely qualified Black business-minded women.
Dealing With Difficult Issues
Soon after being hired as president, Ms. Godwin encountered several personnel issues. Aside from facing resentment from the good ol’ boys network, there were issues related to on-air personalities.
In February 2022, Godwin had to place Whoopi Goldberg on a two-week timeout. Ms. “Goldberg” made statements that many in the Jewish community found offensive. In February 2022, Godwin announced that she was putting Whoopi Goldberg in timeout.
Debra O’Connell Sent In To Overseer ABC News Pres Kim Godwin: It’s Better To Send A White Woman Than a White Man
She said the reason for the time out was because Whoopi had made some “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust.
During a taping of “The View,” a daily show Whoopi cohost, Whooi got into a heated debate with fellow hosts about the Jewish Holocaust.
At this time, Whoopi said the Holocaust was “not about race … it’s about man’s inhumanity to another man.” Whoopi soon apologized for her comments before returning to the show.
“My words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” she said Tuesday morning. “I understand why now, and for that, I am deeply grateful because the information I got was beneficial and helped me understand some different things.”
December 2022 was just a little behind when Godwin had to suspend and then fire two more stars of the ABC News network. GMA2 staff discovered that cohosts Amy Robach and TJ Holmes of GMA2 got caught up in a sexual entanglement.
Both TJ Holmes and Amy Robach were married to other people. Since getting fired from ABC’s GMA2, Holmes and Robach began hosting a podcast on iHeart Media.
Then, in May 2023, long-time meteorologist Rob Marciano was released from the ABC News network. Reportedly, Marciano got into a screaming match with a “Good Morning America” producer. The veteran weatherman worked with ABC News, reporting weather updates for GMA and World News Tonight. Before that, Marciano worked for CNN.
With a drama-filled stage at ABC News — most of it, no fault of her own — ABC News’s parent company, Walt Disney Co., sent a white woman (Debra O’Connell) to oversee Godwin. Other staff members reported Godwin criticizing her new boss, Debra O’Connell. And the rest is history.
Kim saw and read the handwriting on the wall. It read jump before I push you. Should Kim Godwin stay, or should she go? Was she pushed or forced to jump?
Clinton Franklin is a formally trained Computer Scientist and a writer at heart. Clinton is an avid observer of nature and a lover of people and diverse cultures. He adheres to the adage, “Think globally, but act locally.”
It is crucial to be forward-thinking but not a forward person. “Be kind to everyone you meet because each carries his heavy burden…” Plato.
Embrace the three Constants: Change, Justice, and Rightness.
The thought police are busy at work trying to suppress free speech — if allowed their march to madness — they will arrest your very thoughts.
