Davis Named Exec VP at ABC News as Part of Key Management Shuffle

By Michele Greppi

Dave Davis, the well-regarded president and general manager of ABC-owned flagship station WABC-TV in New York City, has been named executive VP of ABC News. The appointment is part of a broad shift of key management assignments announced Tuesday by ABC News President David Westin, who has not had a defined No. 2 for several years.

From his newly created position, Mr. Davis will oversee all ABC News TV broadcasts and related functions, including special events, directors and advertising and promotion.

“We’ve made good progress over the last several years in breaking down many of the barriers that had built up among our programs, but we can do better. Having the programs report to a single executive will help us,” Mr. Westin said in his e-mail to staffers.

Also reporting to Mr. Davis will be Senior VP Amy Entelis, whose unit recruits and develops on- and off-air talent for the division.

In other moves, Paul Slavin, whose primary assignment has been oversight of newsgathering, will take a new position of senior VP for digital, reporting to Mr. Westin with a dotted line to Albert Cheng, executive VP of digital media for the Disney/ABC Television Group. In addition, Mr. Slavin will oversee all digital business development, marketing, and operations.

Phyllis McGrady, who has overseen “Good Morning America” and the prime-time magazines and series, will move into a new position as senior VP for creative development, also reporting to Mr. Westin. “All of our programs and all of our digital outlets will have access to Phyllis and her team’s creative horsepower,” Mr. Westin said in the internal announcement.

Paul Mason will become senior VP for politics, reporting to Mr. Davis and overseeing all aspects of coverage of the 2008 elections. He had overseen “Nightline,” “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” the overnight and morning news programming and inserts and ABC News Radio.

Thirty-year ABC News veteran Bob Murphy will become administrative VP. His recent assignments have ranged from working on the relaunch of “Nightline” and helping organize political coverage to helping Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt and their families after they were injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005. “Bob has forgotten more about this organization than most of us will ever know,” Mr. Westin said. “He will be very valuable in helping Dave learn the ropes in his new position.”

A sampling of initial internal reaction to Mr., Davis’ appointment was very positive. He’s known as a decisive executive and leader with good people skills and wide-ranging experience.

Mr. Davis began his television career as an overnight photographer at ABC-owned KTRK-TV in Houston and worked his way up the ladder through newsrooms until he was named president and general manager of ABC-owned WPVI-TV in Philadelphia in 1997. He took over WABC in 2003. On his watch, WABC became the most-watched TV station in the market and the nation in both household ratings and key demographics. WABC also produces “Live With Regis and Kelly” for national syndication.

(Editor: Horowitz)