Not long ago, ABC News seemed invincible. The ammunition: a cast of megawatt superstars like Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer. Under Jennings, ““World News Tonight’’ had been a consistent first among evening news shows since the 1990-91 season. Presiding over them all was Roone Arledge, an ABC producer who’d virtually invented television sports coverage before moving on to run the news division in 1977. But trouble hovered just offstage. Over the years, Arledge’s various corporate bosses had cringed at his prodigious spending and absentee management style. As Arledge approaches his 66th birthday this summer, the news division is slipping behind NBC. In court, ABC recently lost two major cases brought by subjects of news stories. And Arledge has lately failed in high-profile efforts to woo such notables as Bryant Gumbel, who joined CBS last week at a reported salary of more than $5 million a year.
Arledge’s woes have left him vulnerable to network honchos who have been trying to nudge their legend out the door. Two weeks ago ABC promoted Ar- ledge to the new post of news chairman. The network named David Westin, 44, who as head of the entire broadcast division had previously been Arledge’s boss, to succeed him as news president. Now Westin reports to Arledge–at least on paper.
ABC claimed this arrangement had been carefully worked out by Arledge, Westin and the network’s CEO, Robert Iger. In fact, the plan capped months of maneuvering by Iger and Westin to shut out Arledge. Last summer they quietly dispatched aides to sound out the newsroom about a change, says an ABC journalist. And about six months ago they began talks with Arledge. But Iger and Westin had to step gingerly, because Arledge has the ultimate patron: Eisner. According to insiders, Arledge, with powerful friends and supporters, was prepared to make a big stink had his bosses attempted to strip him of real power. This possibly included complaints about age discrimination, according to people close to Arledge. ““The idea of coming to the end of your professional life has got to be a difficult one to accept,’’ says ““Nightline’’ host Ted Koppel.
Koppel and other allies stood by Arledge. ““I was a vociferous supporter,’’ says Koppel. ““If there was anything afoot to move him out of a responsible position, I wasn’t thrilled by it.’’ Such backing helped Arledge win points. Westin’s move supplanted executive vice president Paul Friedman, once widely seen as Arledge’s heir apparent. Arledge was reportedly put off by Friedman’s blatant desire for the top job. According to insiders, Arledge also insisted that Westin, unlike an earlier ill-fated heir apparent who had answered to corporate bosses, report to him. And by several accounts, Westin hadn’t much bargaining power. His old position didn’t excite him. The plum part of that job, overseeing the prime-time-entertainment division, had been taken over by his boss, Iger. Westin, according to two high-level ABC insiders, had been job-hunting, though he turned down an offer from Sony on the West Coast. Last week Westin added to the intrigue by becoming gossip-column fodder. Several publications reported an office romance between the twice-divorced Westin and a subordinate, ABC public-relations executive Sherrie Rollins, 37, the estranged wife of Ed Rollins, the bare-knuckled political consultant known as much for his self-promotional showmanship as for his ability to run Republican campaigns. Tune in next week.
Insiders need a scorecard to track machinations in the executive suite. The latest wrinkle: romance.
