Inside Disney’s Shadow Succession Game

In the bowels of the Washington Hilton in April, just hours before the White House Correspondents’ dinner, several ABC News staffers were seen hastily carrying furniture, including couches and high-top tables, out of a room on the terrace level of the hotel that was about to host executives and talent at the network’s pre-dinner reception. The room that the No. 1-rated news network used for the previous year’s shindig was under construction, so they had booked another (albeit much smaller) space. ABC News boss Kim Godwin was ready to welcome two very special guests: Disney CEO Bob Iger and the person who is the leading candidate to one day succeed him, Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment and Godwin’s boss, who along with Iger had flown in from Los Angeles for the night.

But the room quickly became overcrowded, and ventilation was poor. A perspiring U.S. Senator, Charles Schumer, was overheard telling an ABC News staffer that he had to leave. Iger was seen wiping his forehead and was forced to stand in the hallway to greet Caitlyn Jenner. A star of the network remarked to a guest that the room was a “sweat box.” To some Disney execs, the party disaster was emblematic of Godwin’s at-times rocky tenure managing the news division.

Just weeks earlier, Godwin had received a stay of execution after Walden had threatened to layer her with an additional manager, Debra OConnell, a television division president, in a reorganization. Godwin made a case that she deserved another shot. Walden relented and decided to give the first Black female news boss more time in the role. 

By Feb. 12, the clock had run out. From Burbank, Walden and Disney HR called Godwin in New York and delivered the news. Godwin was told Disney would announce the next day that OConnell was being elevated to become the president of a newly created division that would include ABC News and the company’s local stations. The former CBS News No. 2 was given fewer than 24 hours to decide if she would stay. There would be no negotiating and no time for the story to leak. It was a stealth move led by Walden, in keeping with Disney’s style of handling difficult personnel matters. 

Just before ABC News’ daily 3 p.m. news meeting on Feb. 14, Godwin called her inner circle into her office on the fifth floor of the Barbara Walters Building in Manhattan. She refers to the executives as “the keys”: Jose Andino, who carries the verbose title of vp — office of the president & process management; Katie den Daas, who has experienced a meteoric rise at ABC to become vp global newsgathering; Derek Medina, executive vp of ABC News; and Stacia Philips Deshishku, executive editor and executive vp, who had referred in a meeting with top producers to the “cult of [David] Muir.”

Within minutes, the execs trickled out looking “stupefied,” according to two people who witnessed the situation. Shortly after that, the announcement from Walden went wide, hitting inboxes with stunned staffers shrieking, “Check your email.” The OConnell news was official, and while Godwin was staying — given a two-year extension on a contract that was previously for three years, as The Hollywood Reporter understands it — it was clear to everyone that she had been layered. Godwin had asked for a quote from Walden in the news release praising her leadership, two people familiar with the matter say. Walden declined. 

OConnell, a former ad sales exec who has been with Disney for 26 years, now has the unenviable task of overseeing a legacy and declining linear TV business that Iger just months ago proposed selling (no real bidder has stepped forward). She is known as a micromanager who works 90-hour weeks and will schedule meetings late at night and as early as sunrise. (Godwin has espoused a work-life balance.)

In one fell swoop, Walden had essentially demoted a division leader who had created headaches for top brass in Burbank. Those included her handling of the T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach debacle, in which the public disclosure of their affair played out across tabloids before Godwin took them off the air; the fact that ABC News has been without a head of talent for almost a year; and falling ratings for such marquee shows as World News Tonight and Good Morning America. While it’s clear that ABC News, which makes up a small fraction of Disney’s bottom line, would not be a factor in Walden getting Iger’s job that she so clearly desires, several more Godwin gaffes and controversies could’ve hurt her chances.

Walden is one of the few execs, with the exception of Peter Chernin and Richard Plepler, to have risen through the PR department to become a highly respected entertainment executive. While Disney insiders say Iger is close with Walden — the two live just blocks from each other in Brentwood and are regularly spotted on walks together — questions abound about whether she has the House of Mouse running through her veins. (Disney declined to comment for this report.)

While the job appears to be Walden’s to lose, there is some internal competition. James Pitaro, the ESPN chairman with a background in digital media, is in the mix, as is Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney entertainment. Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Experiences who has a loyal following at Disney and received a $60 billion vote of confidence by way of Iger’s investment in the parks division, is seen as a rival to Walden. 

Insiders note that Disney has always had a culture that cares deeply about the legacy of Walt Disney and needs someone to nurture and protect the company’s history and reputation. “I have a lot of respect for her,” David Madden, who worked with Walden when he was president of Fox Television Studios, tells THR. “I thought she was really skillful, bouncing from a detailed creative problem to a sophisticated negotiating issue to a larger corporate agenda she had to fulfill. If she ends up getting Iger’s job, she would end up doing a great job.”

This story appeared in the Feb. 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.