Kimberly Godwin is an American television executive and journalist. From 2007 to 2021, Godwin worked in a variety of roles at

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

. In April 2021, Godwin was named president of

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, becoming the first ever black woman to lead a major American broadcast news network. In May 2024, she announced her intention to resign from the network.

Education

In 1984, Godwin graduated from

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

(FAMU) with a degree in broadcast journalism, where she studied at the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication.

Career

Godwin has held newsroom-leadership roles in various cities including

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Career at CBS (2007-2021)

Godwin joined

in 2007. While with the network, she served as senior broadcast producer of ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

'', executive director for development and diversity, and executive vice president of News. While at CBS Godwin, in discussions with top executives at

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

, reportedly expressed interest in overseeing the company's news division. ''Variety'' reported that CEO George Cheeks was opposed to promoting her to oversee the news division, which ultimately led to her being released from her contract.

Presidency of ABC News (2021-2024)

In April 2021, Godwin was named president of ABC News, succeeding

James Goldston use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...

, who had announced his resignation in January. She became the first black woman to lead a major American network's broadcast news division. In 2022, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' reported that Godwin "is said to have made culture changes a priority" during her tenure. The report noted that Godwin had promoted "key players" at

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

, and had worked to increase ABC News' presence in audio formats and specials. In 2024, it was reported that, according to over two dozen staffers, morale at ABC News had declined under her leadership. ''CNN'' reported that staffers voiced concerns regarding declining ratings for Good Morning America, considered the network's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

show. After receiving fierce criticism from within, Godwin announced on May 5, 2024 her intention to resign from the network. She was reportedly forced to resign. Reporting on her resignation, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', characterized her time at ABC as "a rocky tenure defined by infighting and damaging leaks".

Political views

In an internal email to ABC staff in February 2024, Godwin condemned remarks made by former president and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

presidential

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Godwin described Trump's suggestion that his highly-publicized mug shot would assist his campaign among black voters as “as racist as they come.” In the email, which was reported by ''Semafor'', Godwin stated:

"No matter one's politics, the fact that a person running for President of the United States made these remarks period — but also to a public crowd — and with so many black people present — and that they stand with him — is mind blowing. Shocking."

Awards

Godwin has won six National News and Documentary

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, an

Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, a

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

, and the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

' Ida B. Wells Award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, Kimberly Living people American women television executives American television executives Florida A&M University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Presidents of ABC News 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople African-American business executives