James Goldston

In 2022, Goldston worked with the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack as an "unannounced adviser", assisting with their televised public hearings. Goldston assisted the Committee in crafting their public hearings so as to appeal to Americans who were not necessarily following the details of the probe into the January 6 attack.

On January 28, 2021, Goldston in an internal memo, announced that he was stepping down from his post at ABC News at the end of March. The Los Angeles Times' Stephan Battaglio reported that the announcement of Goldston's exit came six months after the ouster of Barbara Fedida. Goldston himself had been rumored to have been on his way out since Fedida officially parted ways with ABC in July 2020.

In 2016, a letter was written to Goldston by journalists who were requesting reforms to improve the treatment of black candidates in hiring decisions. HuffPost sources described that Senior Vice President for Talent and Business at ABC Barbara Fedida intervened to join a meeting on the topic, a meeting which the group went on to describe as "tense". Mara Schiavocampo later accused Fedida of "racial discrimination", but later agreed a financial settlement including "a nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreement." In June 2020 Goldston placed Fedida, who first joined the company in 1989, on "administrative leave" after a HuffPost report which alleged an "extensive history" of "insensitive and racist remarks." In response to her suspension Fedida released a statement through her attorney describing the accusations as "heartbreaking and incredibly misleading." She was fired on 21 July 2020.

In 2019, he was one of 170 guests at the state banquet during the 2019 visit to the United Kingdom by President Trump, despite his network being described by Trump as being "fake news."

In 2015, he travelled to the Vatican to lead on the network's interview with Pope Francis, which was anchored by David Muir.

In April 2014, Goldston became the President of ABC News, reaching the role after just ten years at the network. He replaced Ben Sherwood, who was promoted to a senior role within Disney. He was at that point one of two Britons in charge of the Big Three television networks in the US, alongside Deborah Turness who was until 2017 the President of NBC News. At the time he also formed a British executive duo at ABC, alongside ABC Entertainment president (and BBC alum) Paul Lee.

In 2011, he took over Good Morning America, which at the time had spent years behind its arch rival Today. Within a year in the role, the broadcast overtook the NBC production to claim top spot among audiences. He became senior vice president (SVP) for content and development at ABC News in 2012.

In 2005, Goldston became the first British executive producer of prime time broadcast Nightline under its then host Ted Koppel. The broadcast was "on the verge of cancellation" and courting David Letterman as a potential new host when Goldston took over. He reformed the programme by removing the "single-anchor, single-topic format" and brought in a three-person team of Bashir, Cynthia McFadden, and Terry Moran.

Goldston departed ITV and moved to the US in 2004 to become a Senior Producer at ABC News in New York, at the time accompanied by his friend and fellow contributor at ITV Bashir, with whom he worked on 20/20. In November 2005 the duo broadcast a report into the BALCO scandal, obtaining a rare interview with the company's founder Victor Conte who had been indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2004. Conte was charged with supplying drugs to 27 high-profile athletes including Barry Bonds and Marion Jones. The investigation led to the charging of Dwain Chambers, Tim Montgomery, and a number of other high-profile American Olympians.

In 1999 he moved to commercial broadcaster ITV and helped launch the flagship current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald. He became the programme's executive producer in 2002 and remained there until 2004. The show became "Britain’s most watched current affairs program."

He then attended the Cardiff School of Journalism where he was trained by academics including British newspaper editor Sir David English, graduating in 1991 with a PgDip Journalism qualification.

James Goldston (born 19 June 1968) is a British-American journalist, media executive, and former president of ABC News.