Word: westin
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Arledge insists the move does not mean he is yielding the reins at ABC News. "I am not stepping down," he told TIME. "I am not changing my duties at all. David Westin is joining us as a bridge to the future." But for close readers of network tea leaves, the move had more resonance than a mere juggling of titles. By giving up the job he has held since 1977, Arledge is acknowledging that retirement is in sight and that the Arledge era is nearing an end. And by laying the groundwork for his succession, ABC bosses are taking...
...Michael Eisner, chairman of ABC's parent Walt Disney Co., intervened on Arledge's behalf (the two worked at ABC at the same time during the 1970s). In the end, Arledge prevailed upon Iger to let him retain at least nominal power for another year, until June 1998--with Westin reporting...
...Westin's appointment came as a surprise to many in the news division. While both NBC and CBS have recently opted for news presidents with substantial producing experience (CBS's Andrew Heyward and NBC's Andrew Lack are both former newsmagazine producers), Westin is a lawyer who joined ABC in 1991 as general counsel. He moved up quickly, becoming head of the network's in-house production units and then president of the network, overseeing news, sports, entertainment and other operations. Yet Westin, caught between strong division chiefs and his immediate superior, Iger, found his duties constricted, and he jumped...
Those in TV news are often suspicious of outsiders, but Westin gets good initial marks from ABC staff members. He has been a vocal defender of the news division in legal matters, like the recent battle against the Food Lion supermarket chain over a PrimeTime Live hidden-camera report on allegedly unsanitary practices. "He's a really strong supporter of the division, including financially, which is where the real test is," says political analyst Jeff Greenfield. "I like him enormously," says special correspondent Cokie Roberts, who got to know Westin while he was ABC's Washington-based counsel. "He respects...
...some wonder whether the inexperienced Westin will have the skills to manage the news division on a day-to-day basis. (He'll have an even tougher time if executive vice president Friedman, whom Arledge reportedly opposed as his successor, decides to leave.) "I have a passion for news and a respect for what has been done here at ABC News," says Westin. "That doesn't mean I don't have things to learn. But I have Roone, who is the best teacher." He's learned one thing already: how to treat a legend...