Mr. Goldston left his first major imprint on ABC News as an executive producer by transforming “Nightline,” the high-minded, late-night newscast hosted by Ted Koppel, a veteran of Washington coverage who left the show in 2005. Under Mr. Goldston, the “Nightline” set moved from Washington to New York, and it became a breezier program that was less focused on politics and policy and aimed to compete more with David Letterman and Jay Leno, who hosted shows in the same 11:35 p.m. slot.
The revamping was a ratings success even as some critics complained that the show spent too much time on pop culture figures like Michael Jackson, whose death in 2009 it covered extensively. Inside ABC, Mr. Goldston was credited with saving “Nightline” from cancellation.
Mr. Goldston’s former colleagues said that when he took the helm as president of ABC News in 2014 he transformed a newsroom culture that was often deferential to top correspondents and created a more top-down structure that empowered senior producers and executives.
Under his leadership, ABC News made several changes that signaled a culture shift. When Ms. Sawyer stepped down as anchor of “World News Tonight” in 2014, a few months shy of her 69th birthday, Mr. Goldston named David Muir, who was 40, to replace her. He brought the popular daytime talk show “The View” under the purview of the news division and away from ABC’s more entertainment-focused daytime unit.
Mr. Goldston had relatively few direct dealings with Mr. Trump over the years. But like most high-level news executives, he has recalled being on the receiving end of an occasional phone call from him — mainly to complain about coverage. In 2019, the two sat together at the same table for a dinner in London honoring Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
When he spoke at a Canadian media conference in early 2017, Mr. Goldston described the Trump presidency as double-edged. It was harmful, he said, to be referred to as the “enemy of the people.” But it had also given journalists “a true clarity of purpose about what we do.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/business/media/james-goldston-january-6-committee.html
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