A Former Fox Exec Is Set to Clean Up ABC News. ‘Livid’ Staffers Say He’s Failing.
Peter Rice, the top Disney executive overseeing ABC News, boasted last year to staff about improving the culture at the news division and not shying away from “tough conversations.” But three weeks after a bombshell lawsuit publicly accused Good Morning America’s former executive producer of sexual assault, angered staffers say Rice has failed.
Late last month, a producer who works closely with GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos sued her former boss, Michael Corn, alleging he sexually assaulted her and created a hostile work environment. Corn, now president of news for Nexstar’s cable upstart NewsNation, has strenuously denied the allegations and ABC denied the woman’s claims that it failed to properly investigate the situation, and has vowed to fight in court.
Following the lawsuit, newly installed ABC News president Kim Godwin called for an independent investigation into the allegations and the company’s handling of them. But rank-and-file ABC News staffers who spoke with The Daily Beast said they are “livid” that Rice, as Godwin’s boss and as Disney’s television chairman, has yet to respond or address staff about the situation.
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