Quiana Burns, executive producer of Good Morning America’s weekend edition, is taking over from Candi Carter as interim EP on Disney’s daytime syndicated talk show, Tamron Hall. 

Carter is returning to ABC Entertainment to focus on her first-look development deal with her production company, New Chapter Entertainment. Burns will only stay at Tamron Hall until a permanent replacement can be found. Burns and Hall previously worked together at MSNBC. 

Prior to the start of this season, the show’s third, Tamron Hall moved from under the auspices of ABC Entertainment to ABC News under ABC News President Kim Godwin and her team, who also oversee GMA.

Carter came to Tamron Hall from ABC’s The View in March 2020, just as the country was locking down because of the coming pandemic. The Daily Mail and other sites have reported that Carter requested to be taken off the show because she could no longer work with Hall. Carter took over after founding executive producer Bill Geddie departed in March 2020, a little more than one year after being hired. At that time, Talia Parkinson-Jones, who was initially hired as Geddie’s co-executive producer, also left the program.

Hall left NBC News and MSNBC in 2017 after the network canceled the third hour of Today, which Hall co-hosted with Al Roker, and replaced it with the ultimately short-lived Megyn Kelly.

In the week ended September 19, Tamron Hall averaged a 0.7 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. That’s down 13% compared to the same week one year ago, although up 17% in households and 7% in total viewers compared to the prior week when the show was in end-of-season repeats.

Tiffany Faigus has been promoted to senior VP, unscripted and alternative entertainment at ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Unscripted.

In her new role, Faigus will identify new ideas and concepts for series, collaborate with the creative community and existing talent, and supervise creative production on series and pilots. She will also be responsible for increasing the output of unscripted programming across all platforms and expanding the size of the production unit.

“Tiffany has been my right hand in expanding our unscripted slate at ABC and I couldn’t be happier for her to do so as we grow the business across Walt Disney Television,” said Rob Mills, executive VP, unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television. “Her deep roots in production and her strong relationships within the company and industry make her the perfect person to further the company’s success in unscripted programming across the multiplatform landscape.”

Faigus joined ABC in 2015 and managed projects such as Little Mermaid Live!, The Disney Family Singalong franchises, Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, Shark Tank, The $100,000 Pyramid, Holey Moley and The Chase.

“It has been the most amazing experience and privilege to work alongside Rob for the last six years. He is truly one of the most genuine executives and human beings in our business,” said Faigus. “I am also grateful to Dana Walden and Craig Erwich for the opportunity. I look forward to creating more groundbreaking unscripted and alternative television in my newly expanded role, not only for ABC but for our direct-to-consumer business.”

Kerry Kennedy has been promoted to executive VP, business affairs at ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Unscripted.

In her expanded role, Kennedy will add business affairs management for Walt Disney Television Alternative, a newly formed unit, as well as ABC Entertainment. She’ll oversee dealmaking and negotiations for development and production of pilots, series and specials in all day parts. She’ll also design and implement deal strategies and help manage budgets at the network and studio.

“Kerry is a brilliant business mind whose inventive and innovative strategies, inherent insight, and strong relationships have been invaluable to our success,” said Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “As we look toward the future, we are confident that her love of television and keen intuition will continue to drive ABC forward and serve us well as we secure, develop and produce the most compelling scripted and unscripted content.”

Kennedy joined ABC in 2002 as a program attorney. She became VP of business affairs for ABC Entertainment in 2006 and senior VP in 2011. She was appointed head of business affairs in 2017 and added responsibility for the cable network Freeform later that year.

Before ABC, Kennedy was founder and COO of I’m Right You’re Wrong, an entertainment and social networking company. Before that she was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

“It’s inspiring to be in the company of talented and accomplished executives steering the next phase of programming for ABC, and I’m honored to be part of the new alternative production unit that will serve as a driving force to grow our direct-to-consumer business,” said Kennedy. “I extend my thanks to Dana Walden and Craig Erwich for their support, and I am grateful to my remarkable team – I couldn’t do any of this without each of them.”

The T Howard Foundation will honor ABC Entertainment, Charter Communications, ViacomCBS and the National Basketball Association as part of the diversity organization's Virtual Awards Event taking place on Sept. 30.

The "Power of Partnerships and Commitment" event, which takes place six months after the diversity organization’s annual fundraising dinner was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, will feature video presentations of the honorees the organization was slated to celebrate in March, according to T Howard president Jo Pamphile. 

T Howard will present its Executive Leadership Award to ABC Entertainment and Disney Plus Executive VP of Talent and Casting Ayo Davis, as well a ViacomCBS executive VP, Global Public Policy and Government Relations DeDe Lea; its Executive Champion Award to Charter Communications Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Hargis; and its Diversity Advocate Award to National Basketball Association Cares Ambassador Jason Collins. 

The event will also feature appearances by such artists as Tracee Ellis Ross, Trevor Noah, John Leguizamo and Grant Hill, according to the organization. 

“We were fortunate -- when we shut down we had pretty much reached our fundraising goal,” she said. “Our supporters stood by us through everything so we felt that we needed to continue the celebration and recognition of our awardees in a virtual format.” 

The subject of diversity will take center stage this Wednesday (March 23) at the 23rd annual T. Howard Foundation Diversity Awards Dinner in New York. Juju Chang, co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline, will host the event, which recognizes and celebrates industry leaders and companies committed to increasing diversity. T. Howard Foundation president Jo Pamphile spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about this year’s event, which will award a Corporate Excellence Award to HBO, a Corporate Championship Award to ABC Entertainment and a Diversity Partner Award to Crown Media Family Networks and Microsoft. Pamphile heads a diversity organization that helps place young college-age people of color into internship programs. This year, the organization received more than 1,500 applications from college students of color for about 100 potential internship opportunities in 2016. Here are highlights of their conversation.

MCN:Heading into the dinner, do you believe the T. Howard Foundation is on the right track of accomplishing the diversity goals it set for itself and for the industry?

Jo Pamphile: We’re feeling that it’s sort of our time in a sense because, for one, diversity is in the news constantly. We believe we’re in such a good place with regards to our diversity efforts. Over the years, we have grown so much — we started as a summer program, and now we’re a year-round program. We have over 100 interns total this year, but we’ve expanded our reach beyond placing interns.

We now have a professional-development arm that we call our talent development program. What that program does is provide all the professional tutoring that the candidates will need for their positions.

We will also soon start a more aggressive eff ort to recruit diverse talent in the tech space. The industry is changing in that regard and the need for talent with those skills is growing. We feel that this is something that we have to do because the needs of our host companies are changing, and to keep up with that, we have to change, too. We will look to increase our recruiting eff orts to include engineers and [information technology] and digital media candidates.

MCN:Are you finding that more companies are reaching out to T. Howard to look for qualified persons of color?

JP: Yes. Our relationship with the industry has grown tremendously, not only in the number of companies, but in terms of the depth of services that we’re providing. Before, they may have just taken a summer intern but now they’re calling to help fill positions beyond entry-level.

When we talk about diversity, it’s easy to say you’re going to commit to it, and it’s another thing to actually do it. Companies want someone who really gets them and knows what they need, so for us it’s about knowing the skills requirement and the culture of their organization. There are young people out there who are talented, are willing to sacrifice and work the extra hours and do what it takes to be successful.

MCN:How did the organization come to choose its honorees for the event?

JP: I’ve had my eye on HBO for a long time, because their programming has been excellent in terms of diversity. When you think of HBO, you think of things like When the Levees Broke, produced by Spike Lee; and, most recently, the story of Bessie Smith (Bessie), played by Queen Latifah. They have always been innovative, and now we have the opportunity to honor them.

With regards to ABC Entertainment, who hasn’t heard of their “Thank God Its Thursday” lineup of Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Grey’s Anatomy? Who hasn’t heard of American Crime, black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat? We really look to honor companies like ABC that have a shared commitment to diversity on and off the screen.

We also have great guest presenters in John Ridley and Russell Simmons.

MCN:Overall, how do you see the industry’s diversity efforts?

JP: The doors are opening and I think that we’re no longer typecasting. It’s really saying we need to hire a person for this position, and if a person of color meets those requirements and is able to do the job, that person will get there.

ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee has stepped down from that position, replaced by Channing Dungey, Disney Media Networks co-chairman and president Ben Sherwood said in a statement.

Dungey, who was instrumental in the development and success of such hits as “Scandal,” “Criminal Minds,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Quantico,” “Army Wives” and “Once Upon A Time,” will now report directly to Sherwood. In addition, Patrick Moran, executive vice president, ABC Studios, will continue to oversee day-to-day operations, and report directly to  Sherwood.

 “Channing is a gifted leader and a proven magnet for top creative talent, with an impressive record of developing compelling, breakthrough programming that resonates with viewers,” Sherwood said in a statement. “We thank Paul for his many accomplishments at ABC and his devotion to the ABC brand, and we wish him continued success in the future.”

Prior to this announcement, Dungey was executive vice president, Drama Development, Movies & Miniseries, ABC Entertainment Group. In this position she oversaw the development and production of all drama pilots, movies & miniseries and the launch of new series for ABC Entertainment.

“I’m thrilled and humbled that Ben has entrusted me with this tremendous opportunity. And I am truly grateful to Paul for being a valued mentor and friend,” Dungey said in a statement. “I’ve had the great honor of working alongside the talented team at ABC for many years and look forward to starting this exciting new chapter with them.”

Lee was named president of ABC Entertainment in 2010 after joining ABC Family (now FreeForm) in 2004.  He had previously been CEO of BBC America.

“Leading ABC has been a fantastic experience,” Lee said in a statement. “I'm especially proud of the incredible team I built and the strategic, creative vision we established and successfully executed for both the network and studio. Together, we've transformed ABC into one of the strongest brands in television, with shows like ‘Scandal,’ ‘Blackish,’ ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘How to Get Away with Murder,’ ‘The Goldbergs,’ ‘Revenge,’ ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.,’ ‘Quantico,’ ‘Fresh Off the Boat,’ and ‘American Crime’. I wish Channing and Patrick all the best.”