Dr. Richard Besser
ABC News has announced that Dr. Richard Besser, their Chief Health and Medical Editor is leaving to becomes president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Besser joined ABC News in 2009. Besser revealed the news on Twitter.
ABC News President James Goldston sent the following note to the news division announcing his departure.
Team,
I have bittersweet news to share. Our Dr. B, Rich Besser, is leaving ABC News to become president and CEO of the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His last day with us is April 3.
Rich has been a beloved member of the ABC News family.
His first assignment was in Haiti in 2010. After learning of a pregnant woman who gave birth in a park, he helped her get care in a tent hospital in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake. We quickly learned he is a natural communicator and both compassionate and calm in any crisis.
For seven years Rich has taken our viewers to the front lines of major public health disasters around the world and translated complex medical information to help people make better decisions about their health. In 2014 he memorably headed to the front lines of the Ebola crisis, where his expertise and courage took viewers right to the heart of that battle against a devastating and deadly virus.
But it isn’t just his knowledge and his journalism that sets Rich apart, it has been his role at ABC News as our most trusted medical adviser and friend.
He has been there for everybody at this News Division at our most vulnerable moments, the painful and scary moments, and at those moments when we need a shoulder to cry on. On a personal note, Rich has often helped me and my family as well, and I, and I know all of you, will be forever grateful to him.
Please join me in wishing Rich the very best in this new assignment, where he is sure to mightily help the cause of public health in America and help all of us live healthier lives.
James