Wallace, Kawaguchi Named Co-EPs at 'Entertainment Tonight'

Whitney Wallace and Leslie Kawaguchi have been promoted to co-executive producers of CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight, said executive producer Erin Johnson on Monday.

ET in 2020 continues with big moves and today we’re celebrating two of our own,” said Johnson in a statement. “The success we’ve seen these last several months would not be as strong or as sweet without Whitney’s or Leslie’s tireless work. They care so deeply about our brand and every member of our team that I have no doubt they are the perfect people to be at my side as we continue to accomplish new milestones at ET.”

Both Wallace and Kawaguchi are four-time Daytime Emmy winners. Wallace has been at ET for 14 years, starting as a news producer and working her way up through news director, supervising producer and senior producer. She’s a graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Kawaguchi has been with the program for 26 years, having started as an intern and then being promoted to production assistant, head of the voiceover department, assistant post supervisor, associate director and senior producer. Kawaguchi has been integral in ET’s recent expansion into specials, such as the “When We First Met” series and the ET-produced special for BET: Kobe Bryant: Father, Husband, Legend. Kawaguchi is a graduate of UC Irvine and holds a masters in communication from USC.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.