According to a recent report, ABC News is facing an internal crisis following a major scandal within the network. Reportedly, inside sources claim the news outlet is struggling to determine its long-term strategic direction amid lapses in leadership and a lack of new talent to draw from. Therefore, ABC is relying on existing, aging personalities to carry the network forward.
However, as figures such as George Stephanopoulos, Michael Strahan, and Robin Roberts eventually retire from the media, they will need to have successors lined up. The problems with talent acquisition became increasingly apparent with the departure of TJ Holmes and Amy Robach, who were previously viewed as the future of ABC News after a scandal between the two that shook the network.
According to inside sources, the network’s dismissal of Holmes and Robach after an undisclosed relationship may have had unintended consequences. “Losing them at ‘GMA 3’ wasn’t the point. They were the primary replacements for [flagship morning show] ‘Good Morning America’! That was their real value. Michael, George and Robin take 70 to 80 days off a year. You don’t get rid of people like that so quickly,” one source claimed.
Furthermore, The American Tribune recently reported on tensions in the network between George Stephanopoulos and David Muir, who supposedly have been engaged in a long-standing rivalry. After Stephanopoulos commented on Biden’s health on the street earlier this year, sparking major controversy, one source claimed, “David has his supporters and team inside ABC, and George has his. The rivalry between David and George is real and makes for tension behind-the-scenes, and there are private celebrations from those in David’s corner that George plunged the network into an embarrassing scandal,” one source said.
ABC News has also faced substantial criticism for how it handled the recent presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with many claiming the moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, employed great bias toward Trump as the incessantly fact-checked his comments, but not Harris’. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called out the network after an alleged whistleblower came forward claiming ABC had colluded with the Harris campaign for the debate.
“I find the allegations credible as written and also because the affidavit was apparently made and filed the day prior to the debate and makes mention of Harris’ smaller podium and other details that only became public thereafter. While I can’t determine the veracity of the allegations, they do match substantively what took place during the debate. The moderators of the debate — @DavidMuir and @LinseyDavis— have yet to respond to the allegations. Since they have not yet done so, one must draw a negative inference,” he said.
“In light of the seriousness of the allegations and the implications for this presidential election and for ABC’s reputation and thereby @Disney’s and the office of the CEO, I strongly encourage you to launch an immediate investigation of this matter. Our democracy depends on transparency, particularly with regard to events which can impact the outcome of the presidential election. I ask on behalf of all voters that you treat these allegations with the seriousness they deserve,” Ackman concluded.
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Watch Trump sound of on ABC below: