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COMMENTS (241 posted)
Totally agree
Submitted by allwell on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 16:53.
My child worked for ABC news and went through hell with Mimi.
All that is written is nasty but true.
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Bad Business, The Personal Foulness Just a Part of It
Submitted by Linkage Wizard on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:07.
As competitors we would often laugh at how ABC made its decisions based on Mimi’s preferences (all those very effete, tepid reporter boys) or David Westin’s lust for prestige. David’s people seemed to spend more time fighting themselves then actually working on their programs.
Ms. Gurbst is an example of how a company loses its way when the boss manages things by keeping the explosive unruly children at a slow boil instead of leading with a genuine business strategy. The house that Roone built is a mshadow of itself. There is no plan for growth over there, just self preservation.
As a competitor, it was easy to see how this woman did a lot to make that happen. She was allowed to stay on because of her deep and intimate knowledge of Mr. Westin’s decisions and ethics over the years.
I knew about her for years. I met her once. Unsolicited, she trashed another woman in the business using foul words and venom, it was like a sewer pipe had opened up and all of Bronxville’s waste products were coming out of an orifice. And yet it was a mouth. The subject was someone she barely knew. I wondered at that time if Ms. Gurbst had a daughter or son and what would happen to them in the world one day when they met someone like her. And also wondered how someone like that could have been in a corporate culture so long.
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It is about time
Submitted by itsabouttime on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:31.
It’s about time ABC staffers found their voice. If only it was a decade ago, maybe you could have saved the network.
I worked at ABC a number of years ago and know for a fact these comments are all true. Maybe management will now realize why the News Division is so messed up. And now, one of the people who allowed this to happen, David Westin, is going to lead them out! Really!? He lead them into the hole!
Felix, I hope you don’t get fired...but you should be taken to task. This puff piece is so far off the mark is reads more like satire.
Speak up, pass this link around! Get everyone who was abused as an “ABC Child” to respond. Mommy and daddy did bad things, it’s OK to talk about it now.
Speak up, pass it on.
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ReMOVED
Submitted by itsabouttime on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:38.
If these posts are removed there will be hell to pay.
I hope someone who has a web friendly friend has already archived the pages. Observer...don’t make a silly mistake. This isn’t your fault, don’t become the story!
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One of the Victims
Submitted by One of the Victims on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:48.
I feel like one of the victims of the Catholic church abuse scandal who finally (albeit years too late) gets a chance to speak out.
Countless excellent journalists had their careers and lives ruined because they were not a part of Mimi Gurbst’s vicious cliche of mean girls and boys. If you were unwilling to gossip about your colleagues sex lives; if your unwilling to betray your colleagues and friends with vicious gossip that would help end their career; if you did not have the right designer clothing or the right school connections you were subject to the capricious calls of Mimi Gurbst.
So what if you were the first on the scene or managed to uncover a great story. A Mimi sanctioned correspondent or producer would likely be sent in to big foot you and take it away. Everyone knew it was happening but no one said a thing.
I almost cried when I read about the woman who still has nightmares about Mimi 10 years after leaving ABC. They are the nightmares of victims who were wronged and had their careers terminated while ABC executives looked the other way. Sadly, many of those in top positions at the main news shows and in management were Mimi sycophant—of course they were or they wouldn’t have gotten there.
Someone in a legitimate news organization, please, please do a story on how hundreds of great journalists had their careers ruined by this woman and her ‘cult of mean’ at ABC News, while everyone looked the other way. Please do not write this off as just disgruntled recently-layed- off employees....if you read these posts you will see that there is a pattern over two decades of this abuse at ABC News.
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Yes, Anne Sweeney - it is
Submitted by mt7569 on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:55.
Yes, Anne Sweeney - it is true.
All of it. David is a joke. And I still work here.
Ask around on floors below and above the 5th. There is no confusion.
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Tears. Of Joy.
Submitted by caliope on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 19:32.
The story that sparked it is crap, but for the outpouring of truth-telling and honest sentiment that it’s provoked among the legions of 66th-street refugees, I am profoundly grateful. Seriously, this is one of the most inspiring bits of testimony I’ve seen in a while.
I was at ABC News for nearly a decade. Mimi never had much impact on me personally, but her overweening influence on the organization was symptomatic of how a great news organization rotted from the inside. Westin not only didn’t fix the problem when he came in; he exacerbated it with his own obsesion with presige, hierarchy and privilege.
I’d like to believe Iger and Sweeney, who I like and respect, can see through it all. But the fact that Gurbt’s reign of terror lasted decades and nothing was done about it suggests this is the best outcome possible.
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Waiting for media beat reporters to cover this
Submitted by formerABCer on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 19:11.
OneoftheVictims—you are absolutely right. This is a great media story and I can only hope that legitimate news organizations will look at this. What a great example of a company miscalculating on their media strategy so badly.
The decision to place a throwaway article fawning over a departing employee was so shortsighted and has led to a referendum on how mismanaged an entire news division is. Brian Stelter at The New York Times, Matea Gold at LA Times, Tom Shales at Washington Post—you all ought to be doing this story.
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Get a Life
Submitted by itsabouttime on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 20:36.
I am very happy you had a good experience with Mimi, and no i have no axe to grind. Mimi was a very, very bad person. She killed more careers and stopped more opportunities for many more people than I can count. I left abc a decade ago, so the current cuts mean nothing to me.
Your comment is the only comment with a positive tilt. Thank you for it. But do not make us out to be the bad guys. The voice is too strong and the writing is too good. We’re not nuts, crazy or insane wing nuts. We are those who left ABC, were fired from ABC or just gave up on ABC because Mimi and Westin and Amy and others wanted their bi-weekly paychecks.
And now. There is nothing left. They are done.
As a supporter, you should give your name, after all, there is no harm. for the rest of us who still work in the business...not something i would do. ABC still makes and breaks careers and businesses.
Thanks for your comments, they are appreciated and considered. They are welcome as a voice on the other side.
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The Dream Lives On
Submitted by ellengrill on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 20:56.
Would like to take a moment to acknowledge the privileged individuals (and charter Mimi-ites) ready to assume the mantle of Mimi... Tom Cibrowski ... Kris Sebastian....David Reiter...Andrew Morse... Jon Banner... Kept in power by David Westin. All ready, willing and able to keep the flame alive and make sure ABC News resembles a twisted version of “Heathers”.
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Not a victim
Submitted by anotherformerABCer (not verified) on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 21:03.
@Get a life: As others have said, it’s great that you benefited from Mimi’s Mother Hen role, but a major part of the reason ABC was dysfunctional was precisely because of the way Mimi operated. The stories being told on this website are only the tip of the iceberg. . .and the tentacles lead to lots of others who are implicated in this long time drama.
Personally I wasn’t a victim, but as I said earlier, I watched as she destroyed others. I remember having a conversation with one young correspondent who was confused and frustrated because Mimi kept cancelling appointments with him. He desperately wanted feedback, but he wasn’t one of the guys who made her weak in the knees, so she just let him dangle until he finally was encouraged by others to leave. I don’t think he ever really realized just how she was operating behind the scenes to make sure he would never succeed at ABC.
I think lots of us are feeling guilty now that we didn’t do more to stop it by speaking up, but the atmosphere was such that we all knew criticizing Mimi was career suicide. Better to leave and use one’s gifts where they could be appreciated. Mimi’s not the reason I left, but lots of us are in that group of people who are glad this situation is finally being exposed.
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SORRY TO INTERRUPT
Submitted by thischainisfake on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:12.
Lets have a reality check. This chain is manufactured.
ABC News is a company. Mimi had an important job there. She ran news coverage during 9/11, Katrina, Columbine, Princess Diana’s death, Bush v Gore, Gulf War 1 and 2 and on and on. How did ABC News cover those stories? No one seriously looking at the actual coverage could argue that ABC News did not field the very best teams on these historic stories. Who helped create each of those teams? Mimi. I don’t remember them being filled with the beautiful people. Ask the people who were actually on those stories how they were treated. Did they feel supported? Were they given the tools and means to succeed? ask the star bookers, off-air reporters, correspondents and anchors on these stories how they thought the coverage was.
The idea that there are sea of talented people out there who were destroyed by Mimi and her mean girls is absurd. Laughable.
I and many, many others love Mimi. I guess at least some felt otherwise. But who cares?
What matters is that during her tenure ABC News dominated on all the big stories.....that is her legacy
Over and out...I don’t have time to gossip with the crowd that despises gossip.
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I want career advice!
Submitted by rose25 on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:17.
Dear Mimi,
I would love to hear your advice on how I could improve my career!
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Denial is not a river in Egypt
Submitted by anotherformerABCer on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:29.
Sadly, it’s exactly the brand of denial exhibited by @thischainisfake that allowed Mimi to flourish. Whenever anyone thought about speaking up about Mimi et al, this was precisely the kind of reaction they faced.
All the TV news networks have their dysfunction but there are dozens of professional correspondents, producers, desk assistants, editors, etc. who will do their best regardless of the obstacles. The people who are commenting worked hard to make ABC look good because they were doing their jobs. They performed from a position of personal pride and worked around Mimi. And despite Mimi, some of us loved our jobs and most of the people with whom we worked. Thischainisfake is barking up the wrong tree by trying to dismiss the very real and very heartfelt concerns that have been expressed.
If @thischainisfake is paying attention to the comments—rather than being defensive, trying to keep Mimi’s feelings from being hurt and doing major damage control for the other Mimi satellites who’ve been outed—he/she would realize that people are saying they did their jobs DESPITE Mimi and the dysfunction she fostered. Just think how much better the coverage might have been if Mimi had not been in the mix.
It’s too late. The cat is out of the bag.
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It’s who you know or how you look
Submitted by muggedbyreality on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 21:27.
Thankfully in the capacity in which I worked at ABC News I never set eyes upon this woman. But many of the comments I have read here have the ring of truth based on my experience at ABC. From my lowly spot on the totem pole I observed the sclerotic, country club hierarchy at ABC News and have seen how name dropping, family connections, sucking up, and dressing the part can be hugely rewarding for those who seek to make their way into one of the cliques of power. I witnessed the latest round of cuts and have seen highly salaried useless people remain while integral hard working parts of the operation have been cast out. There are still a few “Mimi” types feeding off the carcass of the once great ABC News Organization, collecting big bucks, creating nothing and often making life miserable for those who are trying to do a good job.
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stop the hating
Submitted by hustlehard123 on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:43.
please tomorrow is another day.
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To the Mimi Haters:
Submitted by I know better on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:44.
Hold up folks. Before you burn this woman at the stake, remember THIS: Mimi is and was the LAST news manager who would -ever- stand up to the shows, and say “no… you can’t work this person 24-7 for a week, and then tell them to drive four hours in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm, through a mountain pass.” (This actually happened recently). Most of you who aren’t with us anymore are judging her by a -very old standard-. Come walk our halls today and you’ll find that there’s much more to worry about.
I agree, Mimi had her favorites. But the fact is, she was the -boss-, and if your pride was such that you couldn’t make nice, then you were the fool, not her.
I’m a state schooler, who’s not white, not from the northeast, and not married to anyone particularly famous. Mimi treated me better than many of you overly entitled people have authored the venom in these posts.
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Gurbst is evil & Gillette a bad journalist
Submitted by Youmustbekidding on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:59.
Mr. Gillette,
Your are a perfect fit for ABC News..shallow and lazy. You did no fact checking and shamelessly printed what the ABC spin machine fed you.
Gurbst is known as The Toxic Troll on all W66th floors other than the 5th. (the executive floor) Jon Banner is known as the Toxic Son of the Toxic Troll. Mimi created him to be just like her, evil. You are quoting Banner throughout your article like he is a reliable source. How funny. You are really lazy.
Gurbst and Banner destroyed the careers of so many fine journalists and ABC News President David Westin allowed it to happen.
Without a thorough house cleaning at the top, ABC will NOT survive.
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Are you guys kidding ? So
Submitted by iagreethischain... on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:01.
Are you guys kidding ? So mimi had more power and influence than Roone and David and God too, apparently ? I dont think so. Its a tough business. If Mimi liked you it definitely made things easier. She wasn’t close to Peter and he succeeded. Imagine that. All of this dumping on Mimi is mighty cowardly. All being posted annoyomously. A lot of you seem very unhappy with your lots in life and it’s all Mimi’s fault ? Surely you can do better than that. She oversaw news coverage during the best days ABC News ever had. She had good ideas. She knew how to cut to the core of how people were affected by things going on in the world. She fought for her people and defended them, never throwing them under the bus...something very rare in a business where mistakes are everyone else’s fault. Did she have favorites? Of course she did. Everyone does. She’s someone’s daughter and wife and mother and a dear friend to countless people. She threw parties for people weddings, birthdays and babies in her own home. The kids she will guide in her next chapter will be lucky. Stop hiding behind the cloak of annonimity, cowards. Mimi’s legacy is a proud one. That’s the reality. Enough of the nonsense and nastiness. Life’s too short.
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Response to I know better
Submitted by Youmustbekidding on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:01.
You must have sucked up to her big time.
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response to lagreethischain
Submitted by Youmustbekidding on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:03.
Is your real name Jon Banner?
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howard johnson’s right
Submitted by ohsoserious on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:30.
To those she was treated well, congratulations. It doesn’t change the fact that she was not a nice person.
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To “Youmustbekidding”
Submitted by I know better on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:33.
You’re making my point. I bet you’re doing real well with that attitude. Wake up. This is corporate America. Mimi is benign compared to some of the managers out there. You should -definitely- be your own boss.
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disgusted, you must clearly
Submitted by Opinionabc (not verified) on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 23:48.
disgusted, you must clearly be one of the “mean girls”...or perhaps one of the other mediocre career administrators who Mimi placed into positions of authority. I’m glad you got along with her, but clearly the dozens of testimonials (most of them spelled properly and written eloquently) are telling and accurate. Even those who benefited from Mimi’s largesse felt dirty by the experience if they had a shred of pride which clearly you do not.
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Iagree, clearly you didn’t
Submitted by OpinionABC on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 00:00.
Iagree, clearly you didn’t spend much time near the desk...or if you did, your name is Chuck, Wendy or Kris...or maybe Michael Rosen...she constantly threw people under the bus...and if you were in her “popular” group it was ok to take two hour lunches to go shopping. But you paid a price every time you leapt to your feet when Mimi insisted you escort her to the bathroom so she wouldn’t have to speak with people in the hallways. Mimi was a bureaucrat who cared more about her own prerogatives than ABC...and let’s face it, it was visionaries like Rick Kaplan who were really getting the job done in those heydays, not Mimi...credit where credit is due, please. Ordering a satellite truck to cover a hurricane isn’t rocket science...AND, you really must have been one of the mean girls...I can assure you that in my nearly 10 years there I could name the number of people from ABC who saw the inside of her house on ten fingers. I see the pro-Mimi spin has begun!
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Who’s zooming who?
Submitted by SomethingSmells... on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 00:04.
Dear IAgreeThisChain:
I worked at ABC News until recently. What is written in these comments here about Mumu Burp is true. There is an air of authenticity about the criticisms; they are specific and detailed.
The only two posts in support of Mumu are yours and the one above it. They are slick and sound as if they were written by a PR rep. Are you? Did you actually work on 66th Street, always having to glance behind you to see if Mumu was lurking.
What I find most humorous is your admonition that we are “hiding behind the cloak of annonimity, cowards. Mimi’s legacy is a proud one...” (Who would say someone’s “legacy was a proud one” except a flack...?)
If you are so freaking proud of working with her, then you should not be afraid to identify yourself as a proud supporter of hers. Why not post *your* name. Is it Rubenstein, Marsteller or Edelman? Now wouldn’t that be a story.
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gurbst
Submitted by flyingcamel on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 00:26.
I never dealt directly with this ugly little monster at ABC but I did have the opportunity to meet people she blackballed and manipulated. Those who were part of her circle were as unattractive as she was and even more incompetent. This person is going to Harvard to get a license to work with children? I see a a perfect script for someone writing for NBC’s Law and Order SVU on the horizon. There are few characters one meets in a lifetime with no moral compass but Gerbst is one of them.
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hiding
Submitted by flyingcamel on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 01:24.
The Queen of Cowardly anonymity was Mimi. When she wanted to trash someone she hid behind people in ABC News bureaus around the country using her position in “News Gathering” and depending on inadequate “friends” who owed her their jobs to cover for her and I guess the fellow “management” at ABC News protected her. One was warned not to question her moves. I feel sorry for you that, like others one encountered at ABC, that you are so unaware of her dark side. However, I would rather she continue to entertain you and yours in the relative safety of her home than bring her values into a classroom.
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Who’s Responsible?
Submitted by Responsibility on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:05.
Mimi has always been symbolic of a dysfunctional management structure. While upwards of 400 ABC staffers have been fired, or are in the process of being laid off, and despite public assurances by ABC President David Westin that there would be a reduction in his executive staff (there are atleast a dozen vice presidents or senior vice presidents), so far not ONE has been announced as leaving! In fact just two days before the deadline for many staffers to leave, Mr. Westin had the audacity to send a division wide email hailing ABC’s great future. It was one of the more tone deaf timed missives considering that those effectively fired had not yet left. And if Peter Jennings were still alive, or Charlies Gibson still in the anchor chair, would they have been as publicly silent as our new leader, Diane Sawyer, about what is truly THE most wrenching period in the storied history of ABC News?
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This Is An Outrage!
Submitted by teddavid on Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:17.
Unless each and every one of you is willing to come out from behind the comfort and safety of anonymity, stop the nonsense. You cannot assassinate someone’s character like this and not pay a price.
In the case of the NY Observer, I should think their attorney has already advised that these posts be taken down. No matter how hideous the alleged behavior of this person(whom I do not know) the cowardly conduct of the posters is worse.
Use your real names to make comments of this magnitude or don’t bother. Shame on you!
Ted David, Correspondent
ABC News Radio 1978-1986
teddavid@gmail.com
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Start my comment here.

This is just the first page of many comments some fear will be removed from the orignal link.

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