Paul Slavin, senior VP of ABC News Digital, is leaving the
company, ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a memo to staff late Friday.
He will stay for a transitional period before exiting to
pursue other opportunities.
Slavin is a 33-year veteran of ABC News. He first joined the
company in 1978 and rose to executive producer of World News Tonight with Peter
Jennings in 2000. He was named senior VP of news in 2004 where he oversaw
global news coverage for the division.
He has been in his current role overseeing ABCNews.com, ABC
News Now, mobile and broadband since 2007.
Sherwood's full memo below:
I want to let you know that Paul Slavin is
leaving ABC News and I'd like to thank him for 33 years of distinguished
service to the division.
Paul joined ABC News in 1978 as a desk
assistant and rose steadily through the ranks to become a producer and senior
producer at World News Tonight by 1988. Paul covered wars in Nicaragua,
El Salvador, and the Gulf and was one of the first journalists to travel in the
"forbidden zones" within the former U.S.S.R. Paul was in Berlin
when the wall came down and is one of a few reporters to have traveled to the
South Pole.
In 2000, Paul took the helm of World
News Tonight with Peter Jennings as Executive Producer, a position he
held until being named Senior Vice President - News, in 2004, where he oversaw
global news coverage and helped make major changes that improved news coverage,
better prepared us for Special Events and fostered better relationships with
our affiliates.
In 2007, Paul took on a new challenge,
steering our New Media operations to profitability and driving even greater
usage and engagement for all of our digital properties including ABCNews.com, ABC News Now, mobile offerings
and our award-winning iPad application. Under Paul's leadership, ABCNews.com grew from 14th to the 7th most
viewed news site. His team forged unique alliances with other companies such as
Facebook and Yahoo! and positioned ABC NEWS as a central player in digital
news.
Over the years, Paul has brought distinction
to ABC News by winning many awards for his reporting and producing and for new
products he has helped launch in the digital space.
On a personal note, I have known Paul since
we were both young producers here at ABC News and I have always admired his
intelligence, news judgment and, of course, his dry humor.
Paul has agreed to stay for a transitional
period after which he will pursue a variety of professional opportunities that
he was unable to explore given his full-time duties here.
Paul has been an important member of this
organization for decades, and I know you'll join me in wishing him the best of
luck in all his future endeavors.
Ben
