ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997 TAG: 9703100095
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
``World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'' has slipped to second, and ``Good Morning America'' has fallen well behind ``Today.''
ABC has made a bold move to restructure its news division, but the network insists that recent losses in the ratings and courts have nothing to do with it.
Legendary television figure Roone Arledge was named chairman of the news division this week; his former boss, David Westin, replaced him as ABC News president.
``I think ABC News is extremely strong right now. ... We've got to look for opportunities for growth,'' Westin said.
In two decades as news division president, the 65-year-old Arledge created the highly successful ``Nightline'' and ``This Week,'' and watched ``World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'' crush its rivals for eight years.
Yet Jennings' show recently has slipped to second place, ``Good Morning America'' has fallen well behind ``Today'' in the ratings, and the courts have dealt the network some stinging blows.
ABC also last year abandoned its plans for an all-news cable station, while rivals NBC and Fox started operating theirs, and CBS launches its Eye on People cable outlet this month. ABC also has lagged behind in diving into the Internet.
Arledge and Westin both denied the changes had anything to do with ABC's recent troubles.
``We are strengthening ourselves by adding a terrific piece of manpower,'' Arledge said in a telephone interview.
On its face, the move seemed unusual: The 44-year-old Westin has been ABC network president since 1994, overseeing news and entertainment divisions. As ABC News president, he will report to Arledge.
Westin said he has great respect and enthusiasm for the news division. ``I regard it as a promotion,'' he said.
The move was announced by ABC Inc. President Robert Iger.
``Roone and David have worked closely together on ABC News issues in recent years, and David was a natural choice when we began focusing on succession,'' Iger said. ``Roone's record in building this division speaks for itself, and his creativity and instinctive understanding of the medium of television are legendary in this business. Roone and David will be a formidable team.''
No replacement was named for Westin as network president.
While ABC News is still strong, it ``needs a victory,'' said Marc Gunther, author of a book on the division, ``The House That Roone Built.''
``I think they felt rightly that they needed a strong manager to run ABC News, and David Westin is a great manager,'' Gunther said. ``But they also get to keep Roone Arledge, who is one of the great television programmers of all time.''
Before he was named ABC News president, Arledge headed ABC sports in that division's glory years. Life magazine named him one of the 100 most important Americans in the 20th century.
In addition to the ratings troubles for the morning and evening newscasts, the network's newsmagazines have suffered recent court defeats. A jury awarded Food Lion more than $5.5 million after criticizing a ``PrimeTime Live'' report for the use of undercover reporters and hidden cameras.
A Florida jury in December awarded a banker $10 million after finding that ``20-20'' had misrepresented him.
In August 1995, ABC settled a lawsuit by Philip Morris by apologizing for a ``Day One'' report that accused tobacco companies of spiking cigarettes with nicotine to hook smokers.
Arledge resisted any interpretation that he had been kicked upstairs. Asked how his day-to-day job would change, he said, ``It will be easier. I don't think it will change much at all.''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS File/ Dec. 1995. Roone Arledge (left),by CNBformer president of ABC News and now chairman of the news division,
and Robert Iger, ABC Inc. president, discuss policy in December
1995.
ASSOCIATED PRESS|