ABC News
President Ben Sherwood
"Oversees political coverage for ABC
News" (in addition to serving as Exec. Producer of This Week with
Christiane Amanpour) Rick Kaplan
Political Director Amy Walter
Deputy Political Director
Michael Falcone
PRESS RELEASE on Ben Sherwood
New
York, New York -- Friday, December 3, 2010 . . . Ben Sherwood, an
award-winning journalist, bestselling author and digital media
entrepreneur, has been named as the new president of ABC News, it was
announced today by Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and
president, Disney/ABC Television Group, to whom he will report. In this
position, Mr. Sherwood will be responsible for all editorial,
programming and digital aspects of our global news business
encompassing all ABC News programs on the ABC Television Network, ABC
News Radio, ABC News.com and ABC News NOW.
In making the
announcement, Ms. Sweeney stated, "Ben's proven success in the news
business, along with his entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and keen
intellect, make him the ideal choice to lead ABC News into the future.
His previous tenure at ABC led to the most successful seasons in GMA's
history, and his success as a bestselling author and digital
entrepreneur demonstrate a unique skill set that is as valuable as it
is diverse."
Mr. Sherwood said, "It's a great honor and
privilege to be asked to lead this amazing news organization, and I am
humbled by the opportunity. For more than 20 years, I've known
firsthand of the passion, excellence and integrity of the people who
work for ABC News. I am thrilled to be coming back home, and look
forward to harnessing our innovation and creativity to build on our
great history of success."
Mr. Sherwood began to explore a
career in journalism with student internships at KCET public television
in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau, and the CBS
Evening News in New York. In 1984-1985, during a year off from college,
he worked for The News and Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina; the Los
Angeles Times Paris bureau and the United Nations Border Relief
Operation in Aranyaprathet, Thailand.
He launched his career in
earnest when he joined ABC News in 1989, serving as an investigative
associate producer and producer for ABC News' PrimeTime Live with hosts
Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson. During that time his investigative
reports explored flaws in the secretive B-2 stealth bomber program, the
dangers of unlicensed mental health practitioners, and the unheralded
risks of an overprescribed heart medication.
In 1997 Mr.
Sherwood joined NBC's Nightly News with Tom Brokaw as broadcast
producer responsible for "In Depth" reports, then senior producer, and
ultimately senior broadcast producer, where he helped guide coverage of
the September 11th attacks and the highly contested Florida results
from the 2000 Presidential election.
Mr. Sherwood returned to
ABC News in April 2004 as executive producer of the network's
award-winning morning program, Good Morning America. During his tenure
with the network, Mr. Sherwood guided GMA to the two most successful
seasons in its history, while overseeing prize-winning coverage of the
tsunami in Southeast Asia, the devastation of hurricane Katrina, and
the presidential election of 2004.
Over the years, Mr.
Sherwood's journalism and non-fiction essays have been published in
many respected publications, including The New York Times, The Los
Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, New Republic, Washington
Monthly, Parade and O magazine.
Mr. Sherwood is also the
author of two critically acclaimed best-selling novels: The Man Who Ate
the 747 (2000) and The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (2004). His
fiction has been published around the world
In July 2010, The
Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud was adapted as a feature film
starring Zac Efron and was released by Universal Pictures under the
title Charlie St. Cloud. The Man Who Ate the 747 is also being
developed as a major motion picture and Broadway musical.
Mr.
Sherwood's latest book, The Survivors Club, is a non-fiction
exploration of the science and secrets of who bounces back from
everyday adversity and who doesn't; who beats life-threatening disease
and who succumbs; and who triumphs after economic hardship and who
surrenders. The book became an instant New York Times bestseller and
has been featured widely in print and on television.
In January
2009, Mr. Sherwood founded TheSurvivorsClub.org, an online resource
center and support network for people surviving and thriving in the
face of all kinds of adversity. In September 2010, The Survivors Club
relaunched in partnership with Hearst Digital Media, significantly
expanding its reach and offerings.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of
Harvard College in 1986, Mr. Sherwood earned an AB degree in American
government and history. From 1986 to 1989, as a Rhodes Scholar at
Magdalen College, Oxford, he earned masters degrees in British imperial
history and development economics.
Mr. Sherwood is currently a
member of the board of directors of City Year in Los Angeles and a
member of the advisory board of the Center for Public Integrity in
Washington, DC. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
in New York.
Contact:
Kevin Brockman / Jeffrey Schneider
EMAIL on Rick Kaplan
From: Sherwood, Ben
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 2:32 PM
To: #ABCTV News ALL
I'm delighted to report that Rick Kaplan is returning to ABC News as Executive Producer of This Week with Christiane Amanpour. Rick will also oversee our political coverage. His mission: to lead This Week to #1 and to guide ABC News to dominance in the 2012 elections and beyond.
As many of you know, ABC News is home base for Rick. He spent some 20 years here as executive producer of Good Morning America, Nightline, PrimeTime Live, and World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Over the course of 40 years in news, Rick has worked at four major networks and served as president of two cable news operations. Most recently, he served as executive producer of The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
Rick is a towering figure in broadcast news, winning 44 Emmys, 8 Murrows, 4 DuPonts, 2 RFK's and 2 George Foster Peabody Awards.
His first charge will be to build on the extraordinary work of Christiane and her talented team. From Tuscon to Egypt to Libya to Japan, Christiane has had a remarkable run with exclusive reporting and interviewing around the globe. In tumultuous times ABC News viewers can count on Christiane and Rick to help explain the world.
On a personal note, I met Rick in August 1989 when I joined ABC News as an associate producer at PrimeTime Live. Screening pieces with Rick still evokes the most vivid, visceral memories. We all learned so much from Rick about storytelling, showmanship, and the fighting spirit. I am thrilled that he's returning at this exciting moment for our news division.
Welcome home, Rick. It's great to have you back.
Amy Walter joins ABC News as
political director, it was announced today. Based in Washington, Ms.
Walter will oversee all political coverage on ABCNews.com, including
ABC’s "The Note." She will also guide the planning and editorial
content of all political news and provide on-air analysis on ABC News
programs, including "World News with Diane Sawyer," "Good Morning
America," "Nightline," "This Week with Christiane Amanpour," ABC News
Radio, and ABC News Now. Ms. Walter begins her new assignment on
August 16, 2010.
“ABC News’ longstanding commitment to political
coverage will be enhanced with the addition of Amy Walter at the helm.
We are fortunate to have one of the country’s top political forecasters
and analysts on our team,” said ABC News President David Westin.
Ms.
Walter joins ABC from National Journal’s The Hotline, where she was the
editor-in-chief and served as the political publication’s primary voice
for the last three years. In this role she provided regular
analysis
of the national political environment in her weekly National
Journal.com column, On the Trail. She has also been a regular
contributor to PBS’ “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and provided political
analysis on CNN, C-SPAN, CBS’ “Face the Nation,” NBC’s “Meet the Press”
and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” She was a member of CNN’s
Emmy-award winning election night team in 2006.
From 1997 – 2007 she
served as the senior editor of The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan
publication, where she earned accolades for successfully handicapping
U.S. House races and was frequently quoted as a congressional election
expert in the major newspapers around the country. During this
time
she also contributed to National Journal magazine and CongressDaily.
Walter was named one of DC’s “50 Top Journalists” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2009 and honored with the Washington Post's Crystal Ball award for her spot-on election predictions in 2000. She graduated summa cum laude from Colby College.