African American stars Halle Berry, Corbin Bleu, Penny Johnson Jerald, and more shine bright at a gala fundraiser for the Los Angeles County High School For The Arts held by the LACHSA Foundation. Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman and CEO Channing Dungey who is also the first Black studio head receives the Arts Advocate Award.
Here is what happened in business in 2020.
Veteran TV industry executive Channing Dungey was named chairman of the Warner Bros. Television Group after tenures at ABC and Netflix in which she shepherded hit series including “Scandal.”
In May 2017, ABC announced that its hit comedy sitcom, “Roseanne,” would return to the network two decades after the original series had wrapped up its 9th season run with comedienne Roseanne Barr and the cast. Now, one year after its return, ABC Entertainment President, Channing Dungey, has axed the reboot due to one star’s distasteful rant on social media.
Ava Duvernay is a Golden Globe nominated director from Compton, California, who is knocking down barriers in the film industry. In 2012, Duvernay became the first African American woman to win a directing award at the Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film, “Middle of Nowhere.” She also was the first African American female director nominated for a Golden Globe for her movie “Selma.”
Disney/ABC Television Group shook up its leadership last week, naming Channing Dungey as its new president of ABC Entertainment, making her the first black person to ever lead a major broadcast network. Dungey, who was the executive vice president of ABC drama development, helped develop series such as Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Quantico, Criminal Minds and Once Upon a Time. “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,” said Ben Sherwood, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president