ABC News President to Step Down at Year's End

ABC News President David Westin is leaving the network at year's end following a tumultuous year that saw the division shed 300 positions due to the changing nature of the news-gathering business, reports the New York Daily News.

In an email sent out late Labor Day, Westin noted that while his group had "put in place news anchors on all of our programs," the division also "went through a very difficult transformation made necessary by changes in our business and its economics."

According to a New York Times report, Westin's departure may be the by-product of a conflict he had with ABC's parent company, Walt Disney, over the profitability of the news division.

Westin has been the head of the division for 13 years and is the second high-profile executive to leave the network in the last few months. In July, Steve McPherson, ABC's top entertainment chief, was replaced.

Selected Reading: NY Daily News, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly

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