Channing Dungey is the First Black Woman to Run a Broadcast Network

By Kenrya Rankin Feb 18, 2016

It’s time to add another item to the list of Black firsts: Yesterday (February 17), ABC announced that Channing Dungey is the television network’s new entertainment president. Variety reports that she is the first Black person to control programming for a major broadcast network.

You might not know Dungey’s name, but you know the shows she developed during her tenure as senior vice president of drama development. They include “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Quantico” and “American Crime.”

Dungey has been with the network since 2009. Another Black woman, Nne Ebong, was promoted to take over her former duties in drama development. The Atlantic reports that Dungey may be in for a rough climb in the top spot. Her promotion comes at a time with the network’s ratings sit below those of NBC, CBS and FOX.

*Note: Headline updated to reflect that Dungey is first to hold this position at a broadcast network.