Ousted ABC News President Kim Godwin was accused of showing favoritism toward her alma mater and its alumni before her sudden resignation from the network over the weekend, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come after Godwin announced her resignation from ABC News on Sunday, sources close to the network claimed that the now-retired president was preoccupied with her alma mater, Florida A&M University.
According to one source, Godwin ignored the network’s low budget restrictions and assigned two separate camera crews to Tallahassee earlier this month to report on the Florida university’s commencement ceremony.
While one camera crew was reportedly assigned to cover FAMU’s graduation ceremony, the second crew was reportedly assigned to cover a $237 million donation recently made to the school.
Even more concerning were the reports that Godwin showed favoritism toward students and graduates who also attended FAMU and that she would reportedly hand out “a few too many” internships to those students.
Meanwhile, ABC News reportedly suffered low budget restrictions across the network and scrambled to cover more significant national stories such as Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial and the pro-Palestine protests taking place at college and university campuses across the country.
“FAMU was Godwin’s alma mater, as no one at ABC needs reminding, and her obsession with the school was seen as one of the cringiest aspects of her egocentric leadership,” Puck reported shortly after Godwin’s resignation on Friday.
“The FAMU assignment was the perfect coda to Godwin’s embattled tenure,” the outlet added regarding Godwin’s decision to send two separate crews to FAMU’s commencement ceremony earlier this month.
As RadarOnline.com previously noted, Godwin ultimately stepped down as ABC News president on Sunday night – although some insiders described Godwin’s sudden departure as a “compulsory resignation.”
Godwin officially announced her decision to “retire from broadcast journalism” in a memo sent to ABC News staffers on Sunday. She also made sure to cite her “beloved” alma mater, FAMU.
“After matriculating through j-school at my beloved Florida A&M University, I have been fortunate and blessed enough to have done almost every job there is in this business, including anchor, investigative reporter, news director, field producer, network/special events executive producer and more before moving on to the executive ranks,” Godwin wrote in her memo Sunday.
“Anyone who’s passionate about what we do knows there’s no other business like it, so this was not an easy or quick decision,” she continued.
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“But after considerable reflection, I’m certain it’s the right one for me as I look to the future and prioritize what’s most important for me and my family.”
ABC veteran executive Debra OConnell, who was recently promoted to oversee ABC News earlier this year, later confirmed Godwin’s departure.
OConnell is also poised to lead ABC News until Godwin’s successor is named.
“For the time being, I will oversee ABC News and I’m looking forward to working with the leadership team as we forge a new path forward together,” OConnell wrote in a memo of her own over the weekend.