With ABC News President Ben Sherwood stepping up to replace Anne Sweeney as co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group, attention is turning to who will replace him at the news division.

ABC News Senior Vice President James Goldston appears to be the next in line, Deadline.com reports.

“Goldston’s the guy credited with saving ‘Nightline’ from oblivion, and turning ‘Good Morning America’ into the franchise that deposed NBC’s ‘Today’ as king of the morning show ratings — though Goldston already had been upped to Sherwood’s No. 2 guy, and Tom Cibrowski, who’d worked with Goldston on ‘GMA,’ had been promoted to ‘GMA’ chief when the program actually went in for the kill,” the story reports.

Goldston is said to be well-liked, the piece adds. “He’s also considered so valuable to the news operation that discussion of Sherwood-replacement plans don’t seem to include any other names,” the report adds.

James Goldston