ABC News SVP Derek Medina to Exit

Derek Medina, a longtime ABC News business executive, will leave the Disney unit at the end of the year after a more than two-decade run. His exit may spur new questions about what plans ABC News has to assign an executive to directly oversee talent relations, something that people familiar with the unit say has been in question for several months.

Medina sent a memo to staffers Wednesday telling them of his planned departure. His looming exit was previously reported by Status, a newsletter devoted to coverage of the media industry.

“We have reveled in hard-fought victories and weathered unprecedented challenges. And I would like to acknowledge the many people who have positively impacted my experience through the mountains and valleys of the past four decades and thank them for their continued support and encouragement,” Medina said in a memo to staffers. “It has meant more than you know.”

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Medina started at ABC News in 1998 as a director for business affairs, and has managed negotiations for a wide range of network news deals, including talent, licensing, acquisitions, production, distribution, all third-party rights negotiations and partnerships. In 2020, he was elevated to his current senior vice president role, and his ascension was seen as a potential identification of a second-in-command of sorts to then-ABC News President James Goldston.

“He will be a key partner for me in running our business who will manage our operational efforts and growth strategies and work with me and all our leaders on advancing the culture,” said Goldston in a prepared statement at the time. The heads of marketing, global newsgathering operations, news administration, news practices and non-fiction production were to report to Medina.

Medina oversaw talent relations, but a different executive, Mary Noonan, was the executive who supervised such relationships directly. Noonan left in a restructuring orchestrated by Goldston’s successor, Kim Godwin. Godwin was replaced after Disney assigned a new senior executive, Debra OConnell, in February to run both its local stations and news operations. Almin Karamehmedovic was named president of ABC News in August.

There are a number of executives available who specialize in talent relations with news anchors. Alison Pepper, a veteran of CBS News, recently exited that Paramount Global unit after a second tour there.