The death of Peter Jennings and the state of the American media (Media flashback)

I saw Jennings mentioned about a week ago and I have to say I had completely forgotten that he was dead. It was 2005? That long ago? To me he was utterly insignificant and I didn’t really notice his passing, or remember it.

The MSM lives in an Iron Bubble.

I’ll never forget (when the R’s were elected in ‘93) his arrogant Canuck mug’s remarks!

Peter Jennings is dead?

Yes, he died in August 2005 of lung cancer. Charles Gibson was his successor from 2006 to 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6vv_ItnqGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuBOFLnGQNc

It’s a fraternity. Ask Rather.

In 2010, ABC News covered up their own executive newsroom sexual harassment scandal.

In a seemingly innocuous article about retiring ABC News executive Mimi Gurbst ("Top ABC News Producer Leaving Network To Become High School Guidance Counselor"), the New York Observer opened the floodgates for insiders to vent their frustrations over what really went on behind office doors.

Two hundred forty nine posts later, the New York Observed purged the entire contents section. Below, I am posting the entries specific to sexual harassment at ABC News.

ABC News Producer Leaving Network

Submitted by OpinionABC on Wed, 05/12/2010 - 16:53.

I'm sorry, but I find this story almost more than I can swallow. I spent the better part of 10 years at ABC News and Mimi Gurbst, who was demoted from VP of News Coverage some years back to a producer role, was great with her stable of favorites and at best an obstructionist with those she didn't like. This had nothing to do with qualifications of being a good journalist, it was simply reward and recognition for the sycophants who sucked up to her the most. ABC's gain is some poor school's loss...these kids had better start complimenting Mimi on her hair and outfits if they want the time of day from her.

How to Get ‘In’ with Mimi [A Guide for Future Students]

Submitted by notamimipet on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 02:00.

1. Mimi and her clique of chosen ones at ABC News were dubbed the “Mean Girls.” To be a part of the group you had to be at least 3 of the following: white/good-looking/rich/pedigree/Ivy(or fancy boarding school) or date/marry/be associated with people who fit that bill
2. If female, wear expensive jewelry and shoes. Talk about the size of your boyfriend’s penis, how good/bad the sex is, and how much money he and his family make.
3. If male, see #2 and add flirtation. Yes, even if you’re gay. Dress well and keep yourself groomed. Tell her which females and/or males you want to f***. And use that word.
4. If minority, talk about your racial sexual preferences. Bonus points if you like white women and/or men. Extra bonus if they are Jewish.
5. All – you must ALWAYS have a good gossip story. Tell her gossip (preferably sex-related) about your colleagues. If you know famous people, you MUST name-drop. Talk about your love for the Four Seasons and fancy hotels/restaurants/shopping. And as previously mentioned, compliment her hair and outfits.
6. Doing all of the above will guarantee you a plum position at…well, not at ABC News anymore THANK GOD. I’ll be sure to pray in church this Sunday that the good lord Jesus will help her change her ways…so help those children.

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead!

Submitted by ExABCNewsie on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 07:53.

The bearded Lady, Jabba the Huttress.
I can only surmise that Felix Gillette is either hoping for a job at ABC or his significant other already has a job with ABCNews. Obviously, Felix has no idea of how horrible person Mimi Gurbst is. Did she get her power at ABC News from her early relationship with Bob Murphy by helping to keep his sexual orientation (before he came out of the closet) or maybe she was blackmailing him?
Whatever. It's 20 years too late and countless decent people's careers ruined, not to mention the advancement of many incompetent sycophants.
I spent 11 years there and it was all about avoiding Mimi.
And yes, you really did need to stop by the desk every day and find something to compliment and drop some dirty little sex joke.
Ick! I can still see those big black hairs sprouting from her chin....

The queen of manipulation

Submitted by anotherformerABCer on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:16.

Let me first say that I managed to maneuver around Mimi and never was scathed by her ---or at least not in a way that made any big difference. But I saw plenty who were.
I guess you're getting the message that you need to do a follow up story or at least correct some of the errors. Now that Mimi can no longer control lives, the flood gates are open. Banner was one of her pets from his days as a desk assistant. He made a quick rise, in part, because he was ambitious and a hard worker, but also very much because Mimi made sure he was groomed and got chances others didn't get at the same stage of their careers, so naturally he thinks she's wonderful.
Many people often wondered why Mimi--who never really earned her spurs as a producer and had almost no producing credits--was in charge of news coverage and then was put in a position at the World News rim to oversee stories that experienced producers were producing. One thing one could not do was question upper level management about the wisdom of having her in those positions.
There was a joke that people had to do "couch time" in her office. Not sex, but schmoozing and sucking up. Because her office had a big window that opened onto the newsroom, people also could look in and see which of Mimi's pets were getting face time with her that day.
When potential correspondents were being interviewed, they always had to have "an audience" with Mimi as they made the rounds to meet executive producers and top management. She'd swoon over the men she considered handsome and anoint them stars. The women who usually made the cut were blond. She'd dismiss people who hadn't gone to the "right" schools, who didn't have the "look" she liked or whose personalities didn't click with her dish-the-dirt approach to life. Some perfectly good correspondents failed at ABC because Mimi iced them the day they walked in the door and systematically trashed and marginalized them making sure they would never get on World News.
You also should check out the circle of mean girls on the second and fifth floors. They were great at politicking. Not so good at building the kind of team ABC needed to be competitive. They were in place before Westin arrived and he seemed unable to weed them out.

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.

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.

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.

Mimi Gurbst

Submitted by ABCNow on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 01:19.

I have had an exceptionally happy career at ABC News. But nothing, nothing dismayed me more than watching Mimi Gurbst single-handedly attack the news division, destroy lives, ruin stories, humiliate and degrade people, and generally give journalism a bad name. This is a woman who did not care one bit about news. This is a woman who once asked me where Rwanda was (while in her role as head of global news coverage) and why we should be covering "all those black people". This is a woman who created an atmosphere of sexual harassment by telling me in specific detail in the middle of the newsroom how our closeted gay VP liked his sex and where, and then proceeded to tell me he WOULD promote her or he would pay. Never, never, was there any attention paid to the importance of a story, the reporting of a story, or ethics.
Never were people hired or promoted based on experience or skill. Simply on their relationships with Mimi.
And Mimi got ahead by attaching herself to people in power, learning every personal detail of their lives ... and wielding them as power. Now it's poor Diane Sawyer.
Why, you ask, do we not name ourselves here? Are you aware of the atmosphere of terror at ABC now? Of the vitriol this woman has and will continue to show? This woman destroyed careers and lives. She will do it again to those poor high school kids if she is ever hired at a school.
We are now over 100 people -- this has not stopped. We are not all bitter. We were not all harmed by her. Many of us have watched in horror and helplessness. We can't all be wrong.

Ding Dong

Submitted by dingdong on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 08:30.

I spent more than a decade of my life as a producer for ABC, and I can assure you, these people who have posted before me are not exaggerating. And I learned something new yesterday. As many of us "formers" have been burning up the phone lines, rejoicing that Mimi will no longer be in a position to hurt people at ABC, a correspondent I used to work with told me something she's kept from me all this time. She said years ago, Mimi pulled her into her office and demanded to know the dirt on my sex life. When my friend refused to talk about me behind my back (imagine that), she says Mimi set about to torpedo her career...and did a very nice job of it.
All this fury reminds me of that scene after the fall of Saddam Hussein - the one where all the angry little people push over his enormous statue, and it topples to the ground. Truth has a way of bubbling to the surface. Even in a newsroom.
To Mimi's future employer, please understand she has the potential to damage a lot of lives at your school, just the way she did at ABC. Her fundamental values are not going to change just because she's in charge of a different group. And this group is far more vulnerable than we were.

Massive Disney HR Disaster

Submitted by Msmedia (not verified) on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 11:04.

Massive Disney HR Disaster Revealed....finally
I can't believe no one is commenting on the complete lack of HR support at ABC News. There is no way....no way....that people didn't go to HR with Mimi complaints. As a former abcnewser who was sexually harassed in front of staffers, I have experience. I went to HR armed with graphic emails and other staff willing to bear witness. I was told that if I wanted to have a career in this business I would let it go. When I chose to leave I asked for an exit interview and was granted one. I spoke and they wrote nothing down.

Mimi Gurbst and ABC's "Heathers" culture

Submitted by Mimithemagnificent on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 23:32.

First, an anecdote. I spent a few years as an on-air talent at ABC News. During my first week there, it was suggested that I spend some time with Mimi Gurbst. I had no idea who she was or what she actually did in the organization, but I took the hint and got on the couch.
What followed would have made a good scene in Madmen (aside from her gender). Instead of asking me about my goals as a journalist or the types of stories I wanted to cover, Mimi was very focused on the fact that I was marrying someone of a different race. She also was very interested to know my opinion about Robin Roberts' sexual orientation. I walked out still not understanding what Mimi actually did at ABC News, but I figured she must be pretty damn important to get away with behavior like that.
Now, aside from all this perfectly justified Mimi-bashing, here's the important point: The "Heathers" culture that existed at ABC News as personified by Mimi caused it to miss countless opportunities to avoid the fate which has befallen it. It missed the chance to start a cable network in the 1990s, instead watching both MSNBC and Fox News eat its lunch. When it finally did make a lame and belated attempt with ABC News Now, its balkanized culture kept it from giving it the promotional support it needed to succeed. The place is a complete mess, and it's why I got out of there the first chance I got (thank goodness).
The deck was not stacked against ABC News or Mimi Gurbst. It was immature and unprofessional management that put it in this position. That is sad for all the smart, inspiring people who have worked there (and I include Jessica among them).

There are also plenty of posts asking if media reporters like Brian Stelter would cover this story. There are later posts declaring that ABC Execs were pressuring and threatening the media reporters to ignore this story.

-PJ

I will remember Jennings only for his remark that “America had a temper tantrum” when the House & Senate went Republican in 1994.

Typical Canadian arrogance.

RIGHT! Who knew?

They call it “programming” because they want to program you!

Just say no to the MSM.