One of the top business affairs and talent executives in the news division is on ABC News following an investigation that made racially callous comments. The network also announced plans to restructure its position.
In an email to the staff obtained by DeadlinePeter Rice, president of Walt Disney Television and co-president of Disney Media Networks, wrote that Barbara Fedida would not return to the company after her suspension last month. He wrote that “in light of the overall results, we have determined that she can no longer serve in a leadership role and will not return to ABC News.”
Fedida was the network’s senior vice president for talent, editorial strategy and business affairs, and, among other functions, oversaw inclusion in the newsroom and was responsible for recruiting and developing network presenters and correspondents.
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Rice wrote that the investigation “confirmed that Ms Fedida made some of the racially callous unacceptable comments attributed to her. She also confirmed that Ms Fedida handled roughly and sometimes used rude and inappropriate language.”
“Finally, the investigation found no basis for claims that Ms. Fedida was the subject of dozens of human resource complaints and that ABC News spent millions of dollars on confidential settlements related to Ms. Fedida, as alleged in some press accounts, “Rice wrote. .
Yashar Ali, in a story on HuffPost, reported that Fedida’s alleged misconduct led the network to spend millions of dollars on confidential deals with former talents and staff. That included at least one settlement related to complaints of racial discrimination.
Ali wrote that he based his story on interviews with 34 sources over six months. Her story was reported in one instance in 2018, when Fedida was sitting with colleagues discussing contract negotiations with Good morning america co-host Robin Roberts, and “then he asked what more Roberts could want and said it wasn’t like the network asked Roberts to ‘pick cotton.'” Ali quoted an unidentified source who was in the room and two others who were not present, but I recounted it shortly afterwards.
Ali also reported that Fedida was the subject of more than a dozen Human Resources complaints and a Human Resources investigation in 2016 that led the network to hire an executive coach for her.
After the HuffPost story and the Fedida suspension, the National Association of Black Journalists called a meeting with the top executives of the network and its parent, Walt Disney Co., as well as to make the findings of the investigation public. .
In her note to employees, Rice wrote that “given the way in which Ms. Fedida exercised the power of her position, we have determined that the position needs to be restructured. Going forward, business affairs will be a separate function of talent relations and recruitment, each with its own leader. “
“Second, we understand that serious work needs to be done to improve the culture of inclusion and further advance our goal of attracting, nurturing, and retaining diverse talent,” Rice wrote. “We will provide more details on these initiatives later this week.”
In a statement his lawyer gave HuffPost at the time, Fedida said: “Throughout my career, I have been an advocate for greater diversity in network news. Building a news division where everyone can prosper has been my life’s mission. I am proud of my decades of recruiting, supporting and promoting talented journalists of color. And unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that record is well documented and undeniable. “
Fedida briefed ABC News President James Goldston and also worked with Goldston’s predecessor Ben Sherwood. She has been online since 2011, having previously worked as vice president of talent and development for CBS News.
