Avenger of the Week: Kim Godwin, Incoming President of ABC News

Award-winning television executive Kim Godwin will become the first Black president and first Black woman to head ABC News, as well as the first Black executive and first Black woman to lead a major broadcast network news operation when she takes the helm as president of ABC News next month.

Godwin has worked at all three major networks and managed newsrooms at local, national, and international levels over a 35-year career. She was previously executive vice president at CBS News, where she oversaw newsgathering from staff around the nation and the world.

“Throughout Kim’s career in global news organizations and local newsrooms, she has distinguished herself as a fierce advocate for excellence, collaboration, inclusion and the vital role of accurate and transparent news reporting,'' said Peter Rice, Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. Disney owns ABC News.

At ABC News, she will be responsible for Good Morning America and World News Tonight, both most-watched in their category, as well as The View, 20/20, This Week, and over the news unit’s efforts in live-streaming.

At CBS, Godwin helped to develop and supervise a new unit devoted to telling stories about race and culture, as well as CBS Village, a multiplatform franchise aimed at calling attention to content about diverse groups of people. She also managed the relaunch of CBS News with Nora O’Donnell.

A native of Panama City, Florida and a journalism graduate of Florida A&M University, Godwin began her news career at a station in West Palm Beach, Florida and went on to leadership roles at newsrooms in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Cleveland. She earned six Emmy Awards for news, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and a DuPont-Columbia Award, among many others.

Godwin has also been very involved with her alma mater, serving on the board of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, teaching as an adjunct professor, and mentoring students.

We salute Kim Godwin as our Avenger of the Week for her many achievements in the news business and as a role model and advocate for diversity who pays it forward through mentorship.

Who's the @GenderAvenger #AvengerOfTheWeek? It's the amazing @KimGodwinTV who will be the 1st Black president & 1st Black woman to head ABC News AND the 1st Black executive & 1st Black woman to head a broadcast network news operation! #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-kim-godwin