Seni Tienabeso has been named the executive director of the streaming news channel ABC News Live.
ABC News president Kim Godwin announced the news in a memo to staff Tuesday morning.
In this role, Tienabeso will oversee day-to-day editorial direction for the channel—and focus on developing its original live programming, live events, and specials.
Tienabeso has been with ABC News since 2007, joining ABC News Live in 2019 as executive producer of primetime. In that role, Tienabeso was responsible for the launch of and oversaw ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis. He has also played an important role in shaping ABC News Live’s political and special events coverage and specials.
ABC News Live executive producers will now report to Tienabeso—and he’ll lead the search for a new executive producer of ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis.
ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, under Tienabeso, became the first major streaming newscast to receive Emmy nominations while winning Gracie, National Association of Black Journalists and Headliner awards.
Before his role at ABC News Live, Tienabeso was a senior producer for World News Tonight with David Muir, where he and his team won an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Michael in 2018. Prior to World News Tonight, he spent nearly a decade on the road reporting for the network from various parts of the world.
TVNewser obtained Godwin’s note to ABC News staff, shown below:
Team –
I’m pleased to announce Seni Tienabeso has been promoted to executive director of ABC News Live. In this new role, Seni will oversee day-to-day editorial direction for the channel and focus on developing its original live programming, live events, and specials.
Seni first joined ABC News Live in 2019 as executive producer of primetime, where he launched “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis.” He has also played a critical role shaping ABC News Live political and special events coverage and specials. Since joining the team, Seni has been instrumental in building the profile of the channel leading its primetime live and taped strategy that continues to set ABC News Live apart.
Under Seni’s leadership, “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis” became the first major streaming newscast ever to receive Emmy nominations while winning Gracie, National Association of Black Journalists and Headliner awards. “Prime” was responsible for producing some of the network’s climate change coverage that helped ABC News win a Deadline Club and Edward R. Murrow award. The “Prime” team has also produced impactful specials, including a five-week series on the fentanyl crisis that became a one-hour documentary, “Poisoned,” and “985 Days” which detailed Trevor Reed’s time in Russian custody.
Prior to joining ABC News Live in 2019, Seni was a senior producer for “World News Tonight with David Muir,” often overseeing the program’s foreign and social justice stories and anchor producing the show when it would cover breaking news. During his tenure, he and that team won an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for their breaking news coverage of Hurricane Michael. Prior to “World News Tonight,” he spent nearly a decade in the field, reporting on six continents in dozens of nations. Seni joined ABC News in 2007 as a producer for ABC NewsOne.
It is an exciting time in the streaming space, and ABC News Live is out front thanks to the leadership of vice president of streaming content, Justin Dial, who Seni will continue reporting to, as well as the hard work, determination and creativity of everyone on the ABC News Live team. As Seni assumes day-to-day oversight of ABC News Live, I am looking forward to his continued editorial leadership and innovative instincts in this expanded role.
ABC News Live executive producers will now report to Seni, and he’ll lead the search for a new executive producer of “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis.”
Please join me in congratulating Seni on his new role.
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