Share and Follow
ABC’s loss appears to be CBS’ gain.
We hear longtime Disney and ABC staffers have been finding a home at CBS News as the former continues to slash its workforce.
Former ABC employees like Matthew Mosk and Wendy Fisher have secured top positions at CBS after departing under former president Kim Godwin. Another experienced ABC News figure, Tom Cibrowski, is also making a move to CBS as the new president and executive editor of CBS News.
Sources have revealed that CBS is deliberately hiring former ABC staff. Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Television Stations, as well as CBS Media Ventures, is enthusiastic about bringing on board these seasoned professionals.
And she’s hoping to replicate the former success of now struggling “Good Morning America.”
An example of the talent acquisition strategy is evident with Cibrowski, who played a crucial role as the executive producer of “GMA” during its ascent to the No. 1 ranking over NBC’s “Today” in 2012. A source noted, “She’s building out the team, and trying to stabilize the news division, so she can focus on her much bigger portfolio,” emphasizing McMahon’s efforts to strengthen CBS News with top talent.
McMahon is a former ABC staffer. She had a stint as president of the ABC Owned Television Stations before taking up her gig at CBS in 2021.
Meanwhile, ABC announced it was laying off a chunk of its staff on Wednesday. An ABC exec seemingly attempted to downplay the layoffs, telling us, “just under 200 employees are impacted, representing less than 6% of the total ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks workforce.”
ABC News president – and David Muir crony – Almin Karamehmedovic announced “reductions to our extrordinary staff” in a memo to employees this morning.
“These decisions are incredibly challenging and today will undoubtedly be difficult for our organization,” he wrote.
Karamehmedovic added, “I’d especially like to acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by our departing colleagues, who have our respect, gratitude, and empathy.”
He concluded the memo by telling staff he’s proud “of all that you do.”
We’re told ABC staffers are on edge, and there may be another wave of layoffs to hit before summer.
A rep for ABC and CBS did not comment.