CBS News announced on Tuesday that longtime anchor Norah O’Donnell will step down as the anchor of “CBS Evening News” after the 2024 election.
O’Donnell will take on a new position at the network after having anchored “CBS Evening News” since 2019, accordingto CBS News. She reportedly struck a new deal with the network to conduct “major cross-platform interview specials,” according to Puck News’ Dylan Byers.
“We just celebrated an amazing five years together. I love what I do, and I am so fortunate to work with the best journalists and people in the business,” O’Donnell told staff, according to CBS News. “Together, our team has won Emmy, Murrow, and DuPont awards. We managed to anchor in-studio through COVID; we took the broadcast on the road from aircraft carriers to the Middle East, and around the world. We were privileged to conduct a historic interview with Pope Francis. There’s so much work to be proud of!”
“I have spent 12 years in the anchor chair here at CBS News, connected to a daily broadcast and the rigors of a relentless news cycle. It’s time to do something different. This presidential election will be my seventh as a journalist, and for many of us in this business we tend to look at our careers in terms of these milestone events,” she continued.
“CBS Evening News” may have rotating anchors for a temporary time period following O’Donnell’s departure, according to Puck News.
SCOOP @PuckNews: Norah O’Donnell tells me she will step down as anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News for a new role focusing on major cross-platform interview specials. … Evening News may pivot to rotating anchors… https://t.co/WVIgIrVD2k
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) July 30, 2024
Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News & Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said O’Donnell will be able to do more “big interviews” and “storytelling” in her new role, according to CBS News.
“Norah will have the time and the support to deliver even more of the exceptional stories she is known for across our shows and streams, across CBS Network and Paramount+. She will have the real estate and flexibility to leverage big bookings on numerous platforms, including primetime specials, 60 Minutes, CBS News Sunday Morning, and more,” McMahon said, according to the outlet.
The discussions for her new role reportedly began after her interview with Pope Francis in May, according to Puck News. Her program reeled in an average of 4.4 million total viewers and less than 600,000 in the 25 to 54-year-old demographic.
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