Kim Godwin Fifth Estater
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FifthEstater didn’t know what “initiative” meant. But, like anyone with initiative, she im- mediately looked it up in a dictionary. A few decades hence, Godwin’s go- getter attitude has propelled her into an office at CBS Evening News as the primetime show’s senior broadcast producer. The Florida A&M grad was promoted to the position, from senior producer, at the end of last year. Godwin’s resourceful approach of “just looking at what needs to be done and getting it done without be- ing asked, without any drama,” is what made the former anchor decide she was more suited to the producing world. In her early career, Godwin did a little bit of everything. During her senior year of college in Tallahassee, Fla., she put in a daily eight-hour volunteer shift at the local ABC affiliate, WTXL. She offered to do everything, from writing and edit- ing stories to setting the rundown. Even- tually Godwin talked her way into the control room, and “soon I was ordering graphics and talking to the director as if I really worked there,” she recalls. A month after graduation, she did. WTXL’s news director offered Godwin a vacant executive producer slot, ex- plaining to the then-20-year-old that he respected her work ethic. She went on to a reporter-producer stint in West Palm Beach, Fla., followed by time behind the morning news an- chor desk. But she decided she preferred pro- ducing. “I wanted to call the shots,” says Godwin. “I wanted to be more in- volved in the editorial process, where it was decided what we were covering and how we were covering it.” From there she produced and directed local news across the country. Following a “refreshing” few years as the interim director of her alma mater’s journalism school, the New York native came back to her home market as WCBS assistant news direc- tor. Godwin stayed in the position for a little under two years before being asked if she had ever thought about joining the network. After almost eight years as CBS Eve- ning News senior producer, Godwin last year was promoted by Evening News executive producer Steve Capus to the No. 2 position. Her 11-hour day con- sists of talking with producers and cor- respondents, editing and guiding scripts, trimming pieces, managing budgets and planning stories weeks in advance. “I like to call myself a Jill of all trades and a master of many,” said Godwin. The broadcasting vet mines her local news skills daily and brings that per- spective to the CBS newsroom. “When you’ve lived in those communities, you can speak to what people talk about and think about,” says Godwin. “You’ve been through it, you can reach back to an experience and use that as a point of reference.” Capus also appreciates her local back- ground. “It made her a better manager,” he says. “She has a terrific ability to spot a good story and is often one of the first people in our group to spot a trend.” Going forward in her new position, Godwin hopes to do more stories like last October’s seven-part series on the National Guard-sponsored Chal- lenge Academies, which use a military school approach to help high school dropouts get their diploma. “She was the driving force behind that [series],” says Capus. “Kim has a great ability to envision what a story is going to look like in the planning stage and in the fi- nal production.” “These kinds of things are what we’re looking to do more of,” says God- win. “It’s a lot like bringing 60 Minutes- type stories to our 30-minute broadcast whenever we can. [We want] people to feel like they walk away from our news- cast and they’re informed.” That’s why as news hit recently that the U.S. was raising its embargo on Cuba, CBS Evening News was in the Caribbean by primetime. “When stories are important like that, when historic moments are made, we want to make sure we’re on top of it,” Godwin says. ‘Master of Many’ Trades Keeps CBS’ News Fresh Godwin brings local TV know-how to senior producer post on network’s nightly broadcast Kim Godwin Title: Senior broadcast producer, CBS Evening News Education: B.S., broadcast journalism, Florida A&M, 1984 Employment Highlights: Senior news producer, WCAU Philadelphia, 1991-93 Assistant news director, WCAU, 1994-96 News director, WOIO/WUAB Cleveland, 1996-98 VP, news director, KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth, 1998-2001 VP, news director, KNBC Los Angeles, 2001-03 Interim director, division of journalism, Florida A&M, 2004-05 Assistant news director, WCBS New York, 2005-07 Senior producer, CBS News, 2007-14 Current role since 2014 Personal: Born Nov. 8, 1963; two daughters, ages 20 and 17 WHEN KIM GODWIN was in third grade, a teacher told her, “You really take initiative.” Like many a third grader, Godwin By Ariana Romero [email protected] | @ _ArianaRomero “Kim has a great ability to envision what a story is going to look like in the planning stage and in the final production.” —Steve Capus, executive producer, CBS Evening News Godwin BROADCASTINGCABLE.COM MARCH 30, 2015 BROADCASTING & CABLE 27
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Godwin brings local TV know-how to senior producer post on network’s nightly broadcast.
Transcript of Kim Godwin Fifth Estater
FifthEstater
didn’t know what “initiative” meant. But, like anyone with initiative, she im-mediately looked it up in a dictionary.
A few decades hence, Godwin’s go-getter attitude has propelled her into an office at CBS Evening News as the primetime show’s senior broadcast producer. The Florida A&M grad was promoted to the position, from senior producer, at the end of last year.
Godwin’s resourceful approach of “just looking at what needs to be done and getting it done without be-ing asked, without any drama,” is what made the former anchor decide she was more suited to the producing world.
In her early career, Godwin did a little bit of everything. During her senior year of college in Tallahassee, Fla., she put in a daily eight-hour volunteer shift at the local ABC affiliate, WTXL. She offered to do everything, from writing and edit-ing stories to setting the rundown. Even-tually Godwin talked her way into the control room, and “soon I was ordering graphics and talking to the director as if I really worked there,” she recalls.
A month after graduation, she did. WTXL’s news director offered Godwin a vacant executive producer slot, ex-plaining to the then-20-year-old that he respected her work ethic.
She went on to a reporter-producer stint in West Palm Beach, Fla., followed by time behind the morning news an-chor desk.
But she decided she preferred pro-ducing. “I wanted to call the shots,” says Godwin. “I wanted to be more in-volved in the editorial process, where
it was decided what we were covering and how we were covering it.” From there she produced and directed local news across the country.
Following a “refreshing” few years as the interim director of her alma mater’s journalism school, the New York native came back to her home market as WCBS assistant news direc-tor. Godwin stayed in the position for a little under two years before being asked if she had ever thought about joining the network.
After almost eight years as CBS Eve-ning News senior producer, Godwin last
year was promoted by Evening News executive producer Steve Capus to the No. 2 position. Her 11-hour day con-sists of talking with producers and cor-respondents, editing and guiding scripts, trimming pieces, managing budgets and planning stories weeks in advance. “I like to call myself a Jill of all trades and a master of many,” said Godwin.
The broadcasting vet mines her local news skills daily and brings that per-spective to the CBS newsroom. “When you’ve lived in those communities, you can speak to what people talk about and think about,” says Godwin. “You’ve been through it, you can reach back to an experience and use that as a point of reference.”
Capus also appreciates her local back-ground. “It made her a better manager,” he says. “She has a terrific ability to spot a good story and is often one of the first people in our group to spot a trend.”
Going forward in her new position, Godwin hopes to do more stories like last October’s seven-part series on the National Guard-sponsored Chal-lenge Academies, which use a military school approach to help high school dropouts get their diploma. “She was the driving force behind that [series],” says Capus. “Kim has a great ability to envision what a story is going to look like in the planning stage and in the fi-nal production.”
“These kinds of things are what we’re looking to do more of,” says God-win. “It’s a lot like bringing 60 Minutes-type stories to our 30-minute broadcast whenever we can. [We want] people to feel like they walk away from our news-cast and they’re informed.”
That’s why as news hit recently that the U.S. was raising its embargo on Cuba, CBS Evening News was in the Caribbean by primetime. “When stories are important like that, when historic moments are made, we want to make sure we’re on top of it,” Godwin says.
‘Master of Many’ Trades Keeps CBS’ News FreshGodwin brings local TV know-how to senior producer post on network’s nightly broadcast
Kim Godwin Title: Senior broadcast producer, CBS Evening News
Education: B.S., broadcast journalism, Florida A&M, 1984
Employment Highlights: Senior news producer, WCAU Philadelphia, 1991-93
Assistant news director, WCAU, 1994-96
News director, WOIO/WUAB Cleveland, 1996-98
VP, news director, KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth, 1998-2001
VP, news director, KNBC Los Angeles, 2001-03
Interim director, division of journalism, Florida A&M, 2004-05
Assistant news director, WCBS New York, 2005-07
Senior producer, CBS News, 2007-14
Current role since 2014
Personal: Born Nov. 8, 1963; two daughters, ages 20 and 17
WHEN KIM GODWIN was in third grade, a teacher told her, “You really take initiative.” Like many a third grader, Godwin
By Ariana Romero [email protected] | @ _ArianaRomero
“Kim has a great ability to envision what a story is going to look like in the planning stage and in the final production.”
—Steve Capus, executive producer, CBS Evening News
Godwin
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