ABC News

Joe Biden participated in a 90-minute town hall from Philadelphia on ABC, while NBC News went ahead with its hourlong session with President Trump in Miami — despite protests from Hollywood stars and others who criticized the network for forcing viewers to choose because the two events were held at the same time.

The president and Joe Biden were supposed to meet Thursday for their second debate hosted by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. Following the president’s diagnosis, the commission switched it to a virtual meeting, but Trump declined to participate. Biden then agreed to appear on ABC. Critics of NBC questioned why the network scheduled Trump for the same time, making viewers have to choose if they were interested in seeing both candidates react live in a similar format.

Technology executives from ABC News, NBCU Owned Stations, ABC Owned Television Stations and Hearst Television will explore how pandemic-necessitated at-home production has overhauled the industry’s thinking at TVNewsCheck’s virtual TV2025 event in October. Register here.

ABC News will present The President and the People, a 90-minute town hall with President Trump Tuesday night from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET. George Stephanopoloswill moderate the 90-minute special—under the 20/20 banner—featuring Trump and voters ABC says are uncommitted.

When Nightline viewers tune in to the program later this evening, they are likely to see something they won’t expect: the show will have a new announcer, new topics, and even a new title. Tonight’s broadcast will mark the start of a month-long “takeover” of the late-night news program by Turning Point, an ABC News project that will explore the reckoning America is currently facing on racial issues. The effort won’t be limited to Nightline. ABC News intends to feature “Turning Point” segments on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, The View, 20/20 and This Week, as well as on its digital and audio outlets.

ABC News will host a town hall with President Donald Trump and undecided voters on Sept. 15. George Stephanopoulos will anchor the event, which will take place in Philadelphia and will held in accordance with state and local government COVID-19 regulations and guidelines set by local health officials. The event will air at 9 p.m. ET on the network and ABC News Live.

TV stations and networks are learning that to take full advantage of the cloud, they need to overhaul the way they produce news rather than try to replicate hardware-based workflows on a cloud platform.

News leaders from CNN, ABC News, E.W. Scripps, Gray Television and Yahoo Finance will explore the programming options enabled by the 2020 election at TVNewsCheck’s virtual event on Sept. 23. Register here.

On Tuesday, July 28, at 9 p.m. ABC News will unveil a 20/20 report that is three months in the making. “American Catastrophe: How Did We Get Here?” with the network’s Chief White House Correspondent, Jonathan Karl, will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how the United States missed opportunities, warning signs and chances to prepare for the coronavirus pandemic, and interviews past and current U.S. officials in an attempt to figure out how the nation will proceed.

Barbara Fedida, a top news division talent and business affairs executive, is out at ABC News following an investigation that she made racially insensitive remarks. The network also announced that changes would be implemented “given the manner in which Ms. Fedida wielded the power of her position.”

Technology managers from ABC News, NBCU and Spectrum Networks will talk about the at-home studio and it’s impact on the future of news workflow during a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar set for July 23. Speakers are (top row l to r): Brendan Falco, senior director of operations at Spectrum Networks and NY1 News; Ben Kepler, director of broadcast operations and engineering at ABC News; Keith Barbaria, VP technology at NBC’s WBTS Boston, NBC Sports Boston, Telemundo Boston and NECN (r); and bottom row l to r): Fred Fourcher, founder and CEO, Bitcentral; Jade Kurian, co-founder and president; and Glen Dickson, contributing editor, TVNewsCheck, who will moderate. Register to attend here. 

ABC’s World News Tonight won the quarter in average total viewers for nightly news broadcasts, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings, topping average and age-demo rankings for the 6:30 p.m. ET slot. For the second quarter of 2020, World News Tonight, hosted by David Muir, brought in an average of 10,331,000 viewers total. Comparatively, NBC’s Nightly News with Lester Holt took in an average of 8,866,000 and CBS’s Evening News, helmed by Norah O’Donnell, secured 6,257,000 viewers on average.

Barbara Fedida, an ABC News executive overseeing talent and business, has been placed on administrative leave while the network investigates insensitive comments she made in the workplace. She had been the subject of multiple complaints to the network’s human resources department.

The president has given his first non-Fox interview in five months to ABC News anchor David Muir.

MSNBC executive producer Quiana Burns is coming to ABC to serve as executive broadcast producer of Weekend Good Morning America. In addition, Weekend GMA Senior Broadcast Producer Mike Milhaven is moving over to the flagship GMA team.

Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos said that his test results came back positive for coronavirus, as he has been caring for his wife Ali Wentworth as she recovers from the virus. But Stephanopoulos said that he has not shown any symptoms, as he continues to anchor the show from home.

Good Morning America and ABC News are mourning the loss of GMA studio camera operator Tony Greer, who died from coronavirus complications.

New apps from ABC News Live debut on Fire TV and Android TV platforms with an update coming to the Roku platform and Apple TV apps. The ABC Owned Television Stations are also introducing market-specific apps on Fire TV, Android TV, the Roku platform and Apple TV.

An ABC News staffer working on the 5th floor of the network’s 47 West building in New York tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday. TVNewser obtained an internal memo from ABC News President James Goldstonto, sent yesterday, announcing that the staffer was last in the office on March 12 before experiencing any symptoms. However, the staffer officially tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

ABC said today it would temporarily suspend its Strahan, Sara and Keke early-afternoon talk show in favor of a news program led by anchor Amy Robach focused on the coronavirus crisis, the latest example of news programming supplanting entertainment and opinion shows as the nation grows more concerned about the contagion’s spread.

Six people at CBS News have tested positive for coronavirus. ABC News said Monday that a journalist who worked on the network’s coverage team of the outbreak in Seattle had tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, at NBC, an employee who worked on the Today show’s third hour tested positive, forcing the show’s anchors Craig Melvin and Al Roker and others who came into contact with the person to be ordered to isolate in their homes as a result.

Ted Koppel isn’t returning to Nightline, but the programming concept that elevated him and the show to wider renown is making a comeback. Starting this evening, Nightline will devote its entire 30-minute span to coverage of the outbreak of COVID-19, charting its spread around the globe. Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent, will answer viewer questions and the program will rely on ABC News correspondents stationed around the world.