THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media
The moment Goldston, 43, arrived at ABC News in 2004 from Britain’s ITV1, he was in charge of nearly every news broadcast on the network — Nightline, This Week and Good Morning America.
PHOTOS: THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media
He successfully led the transition of Nightline from the Ted Koppel-era to a multi-topic format that mines pop culture and hard news and routinely beats late-night competitors David Letterman and Jay Leno, and he has turned GMA into a contender with topical stories and aggressive guest bookings (during the week of March 26, it pulled within 119,000 viewers of top-rated Today, the closest GMA had been in seven years).
On March 1, ABC News president Ben Sherwood announced Goldston’s promotion to a role that gives him purview over all ABC News broadcasts and its expanding brand — soon likely to include a partnership with Univision on an English-language news channel. “ABC has a reputation as the home of the great storytellers,” says Goldston, who lives in Brooklyn Heights with his wife and three young sons. “My role is to empower master storytellers like Diane Sawyer to push the envelope.”
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Asked whether there are things about American culture he still finds perplexing, Goldston — who, like many British expats, rises early to watch his soccer team (Chelsea) at a pub near his home — replies: “I refuse to call football ‘soccer.’ That’s not happening.”
