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(NewsNation) — It’s rough out there for a network — especially ABC.
George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan resentment
Sources inside the building say the resentment towards “Good Morning America” hosts Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopolous — and their multi-million dollar paychecks — is reaching a fevered pitch to the point that “they are literally the most hated people in the building right now.”
The issue is multifold. The network recently went through layoffs, and one source said, “Now producers are doing the work of two people… with one paycheck. ”
Morale is down as the show lags behind NBC’s “Today” and, despite resigning Stephanopolous for millions, the network recently agreed to pay $15 million toward Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit over Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
”Money that could have gone to retain producers and assistant producers,” another source sniffed. “People who have contracts coming up are being offered a measly two percent raise… while ABC pays out a Stephanopolous mistake and keeps the anchor salaries at astronomical numbers.”
“While the rest of us suffer, (the GMA anchors) are all so well paid. Two of them (Roberts and Strahan) only work four days a week and have insane vacation days,” the source continued. “It’s like they’re still living in 2020 while the rest of us reap the consequences — and they’re not even number one anymore.”
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – GMA new first floor set – 4/2/19 (Paula Lobo/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) MICHAEL STRAHAN, ROBIN ROBERTS, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS in GMA NEW FIRST FLOOR SET 
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 15: Robin Roberts is seen on the set of Good Morning America celebrating 30 years at Disney on January 15, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images) 
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – 1/7/25 – Show coverage of “Good Morning America” on 1/7/25 on ABC. (ABC/Heidi Gutman) MICHAEL STRAHAN, ROBIN ROBERTS, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
Stephanopolous is said to be focused on his and his wife Ali Wentworth’s production units inside ABC, which recently had two wins with documentaries on Brook Shields (“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields”) and Bruce Springsteen — both of which received rave reviews.
“The docs that George does with Ali are what he really cares about,” yet another source said.
An insider agreed with some of the sentiment, but added, “George is passionate about his production and documentary units — he cares about those projects, but he also cares about ‘GMA’. He’s all in.”
ABC News potential layoffs
Meanwhile there is talk that ABC News is considering consolidating GMA3 staff with “GMA” which would lead to more “significant” layoffs.
The insider said, “yes, people are frustrated, but nowhere has it been confirmed that (more) layoffs are coming. Layoffs could always be looming in the media industry right now, every network is going through that.”
Indeed, NBC, CBS, and CNN have all recently announced layoffs as networks try to retain viewers and fight new media for eyeballs. But not all is bad — Fox News has retained its juggernaut standing as “The Five” recently beat out “CBS Evening News” in viewers. A new kid on the block, NewsNation (hello!), is also moving up, beating MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell in the key demo at 12 pm this week — marking the tenth time in recent months it has beaten rivals MSNBC and CNN in the key demo.
A rep for ABC News didn’t return emails for comment.