Employees are angry, confused and demanding answers within ABC News after a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleged that former “Good Morning America” boss Michael Corn sexually assaulted two staff members. Several sources tell me that the allegations, which Corn has denied, have shaken all levels of the news network. As one source told me, “there is a lot of anger and confusion and people want to understand what happened …”
Corn’s legal team fired with emails showing Crawford and Corn participating in friendly jokes hours after the alleged assault. Corn said in a statement that the emails show that his claims “are demonstrably false.” He said his messages “were not the words and actions of a woman who had been assaulted hours earlier.” He also said McClain’s claims “are just as false.” He said he invited him to his wedding and “repeatedly communicated to me and my wife that I was missing him after leaving his post on ABC.”
For its part, ABC only published a concise statement that said, “We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive work environment and have a thorough review process and resolve any complaints. ABC News discusses the claims made. against her and will deal with this matter in the courts. ” A network spokesman declined to say anything more …
Inside Godwin’s call at 3 p.m.
Around 3 p.m. (ET), ABC News employees received a curious email from Wendy Fisher’s press conference, informing them that the afternoon’s editorial call with President Kim Godwin had been delayed. until three-ten at night. The call is usually reserved for senior ABC News staff, so the email, which was sent to a large list service, baffled people, according to the sources I spoke to. Then, at 3:11 pm ET, about 500 ABC News employees received another email inviting them to join the call.
At the top of the call, Godwin – who took over earlier this year – read ABC’s statement. He said he came to ABC News to help change the culture and that he is committed to doing so. He said he wanted to be there for the staff and that he was dealing with the problem on Wednesday afternoon because he did not want to wait for the 9am call the next morning. “I’m here,” he said at one point. “You know how to get to me. Call me. If you need anything, even if you need someone to listen to.”
Then Godwin received questions from a frustrated staff. Godwin was asked why the statement issued by ABC News said the network was “disputing” the allegations. She replied that she did not believe it was a general statement and that the company felt certain feelings towards certain complaints. Godwin was asked why everyone knew about The Wall Street Journal’s allegations, rather than the direction. His answer: because the allegations were filed in a lawsuit.
ABC’ers questions were not uncommon. Summary: It was a call full of raw emotion. I am told that a person called. Another person cried. As one source told me, “It was definitely a tense call …”
Will “GMA” address the allegations?
According to call sources, Godwin was asked if “GMA” would address the story on Thursday, but did not give a clear answer. I consulted with an ABC News representative, but did not listen again. The network has not yet named a new senior EP of “GMA” to replace Corn …
What about Nexstar?
After leaving ABC News, Corn joined Nexstar’s fledgling “NewsNation” as head of news. The network makes no comment on the allegations against him. A spokesman told me, “We have no comment on anything that may or may not have happened before Mr Corn’s occupation of Nexstar …”