James Goldston

James Goldston (born 19 June 1968) is a British-American journalist, media executive, and former president of ABC News. In 2023, he joined Candle Media as head of its new nonfiction and documentary projects production studio.

Early life Goldston grew up in Heston, a suburb of Hounslow, West London. He recalls as a child being taken to a shooting for a James Bond film, in which he made an appearance.

Goldston secured significant interviews while at Tonight, including:

Living With Michael Jackson in which the singer talked about sharing his bed with children. The investigation led to the charging of Dwain Chambers, Tim Montgomery, and a number of other high-profile American Olympians.

Nightline (2005–2011) In 2005, Goldston became the first British executive producer of prime time broadcast Nightline under its then host Ted Koppel.

He reportedly faced initial criticism from supporters of Koppel within ABC who felt in replacing previous producer Tom Bettag, Goldston was dismantling the long running format of the programme, He became senior vice president (SVP) for content and development at ABC News in 2012.

President of ABC News (2014–2021) In April 2014, Goldston became the President of ABC News, reaching the role after just ten years at the network. He replaced Ben Sherwood, who was promoted to a senior role within Disney. He was at that point one of two Britons in charge of the Big Three television networks in the US, alongside Deborah Turness who was until 2017 the President of NBC News.

At the time of his appointment, Goldston was labelled as having "something of a Midas touch" in the press after taking each broadcast he led (Nightline, GMA, and This Week) to the top spot for viewership, and with GMA enjoying "its best performance in 20 years."

In 2015, he travelled to the Vatican to lead on the network's interview with Pope Francis, which was anchored by David Muir. In June 2020 Goldston placed Fedida, who first joined the company in 1989, on "administrative leave" after a HuffPost report which alleged an "extensive history" of "insensitive and racist remarks." In response to her suspension Fedida released a statement through her attorney describing the accusations as "heartbreaking and incredibly misleading." She was fired on 21 July 2020.

On January 28, 2021, Goldston in an internal memo, announced that he was stepping down from his post at ABC News at the end of March. The Los Angeles Times Stephan Battaglio reported that the announcement of Goldston's exit came six months after the ouster of Barbara Fedida. Goldston himself had been rumored to have been on his way out since Fedida officially parted ways with ABC in July 2020.

Adviser to Jan. 6 Committee In 2022, Goldston worked with the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack as an "unannounced adviser", assisting with their televised public hearings. Goldston assisted the Committee in crafting their public hearings so as to appeal to Americans who were not necessarily following the details of the probe into the January 6 attack.

Awards

Personal

Radio Television Digital News Association (2019) First Amendment Service Award

Network

Edward R. Murrow Award (2016) for Overall Excellence in Television, and Series – TV (for Nightline). Edward R. Murrow Award (2015) for Overall Excellence in Television Emmy Award (2009) for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine Emmy Award (2007) for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast Peabody Award (2006) for Nightline Royal Television Society Awards (2004) for Program of the Year (ITV News) Royal Television Society Awards (1993) for Program of the Year (ITV News)

Personal life

Goldston resides in Brooklyn Heights, New York, with his wife Laura and three children. He met his wife, who was the anchor of BBC World News America, while studying journalism at Cardiff.

He is a supporter of Premier League side Chelsea F.C.