CBS News in transition: Who's in and who's out after a tumultuous year at the network
CBS News has had one of the more dramatic, tumultuous years of a legacy network in recent memory.
From making a controversial settlement with President Donald Trump to undergoing new ownership, the Tiffany Network has been through a lot — and that includes personnel changes.
Here is a recap of the notable exits, hires, and on-air shuffles that CBS has experienced:
"60 Minutes," often cited as the crown jewel of prestige broadcast journalism, was engulfed in a political firestorm in the run-up to the 2024 election over its edit of a Kamala Harris interview, prompting then-candidate Trump to file a massive multibillion-dollar lawsuit alleging election interference by CBS and its parent company Paramount.
Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder at the time, wanted to settle Trump's lawsuit in order to pave the way for Paramount's long-planned $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, resulting in a huge payout for her. While she recused herself from the decision-making, Redstone had reportedly put "60 Minutes" under a microscope by keeping tabs on what upcoming segments were about Trump and his administration.
That led to the resignation last year of "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens, who told his colleagues last April that the corporate overreach impacted his ability to maintain an independent newsroom. CBS News President Wendy McMahon announced her exit less than a month later.
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Prior to his exit, Owens had refused to apologize and told his staff, "The edit is perfectly fine," referring to the Kamala Harris interview answer in 2024 about Israel that prompted Trump's lawsuit.
His departure prompted on-air tributes from his colleagues and bombarded Redstone and Paramount with accusations of newsroom interference. The network later announced that Tanya Simon, a 25-year veteran of "60 Minutes" and daughter of the late CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, would take over as executive producer.
After the Paramount-Skydance merger closed, Redstone handed the keys over to the company's new owner, David Ellison. Among his first major moves was appointing Bari Weiss as CBS News' new editor-in-chief and acquiring her outlet The Free Press for $150 million.
Liberals were aghast by Ellison's appointment of Weiss, who had never worked in broadcast television. Weiss' background was in newspapers — she famously resigned from The New York Times in 2020 for being ostracized by her more liberal newsroom colleagues.
Despite her heterodox politics that has included at times sharp criticism of Trump, Weiss is often branded as "conservative" or "MAGA" by her progressive foes. Among her most glaring sins in the eyes of her critics is her support for Israel.
Weiss, a critic of the legacy media, is now tasked with reviving one of its most revered institutions, and her sudden rise as a network chief was sure to ruffle some feathers. Her first major challenge came in December with the widely reported spat she had with "60 Minutes" correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who accused Weiss of acting politically when she halted a segment about the brutal El Salvador prison CECOT, shortly before it was set to air.
Weiss suggested the segment about the prison, where the U.S. has sent some illegal migrants, wasn't fair since it did not include a response from the Trump administration. The segment ultimately aired in January, but the controversy sparked an outcry outside the network.
CBS News has been the perpetual third-place broadcaster with its marquee morning and evening newscasts behind ABC and NBC.
In January 2025, Norah O'Donnell stepped down as anchor of "CBS Evening News," though remained with the network as a correspondent. Taking her place were John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, who failed to move the viewership needle.
After Dickerson and DuBois announced their exits from the network late last year, Weiss tapped "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil to become the new face of "CBS Evening News," marking her first big move as editor-in-chief. He began his stint in the anchor chair in January.
Dokoupil is now the fourth anchor to helm "CBS Evening News" since 2019 and the seventh since the scandal-plagued exit of veteran CBS anchor Dan Rather in 2005. None of them held the job for more than six years.
Paramount slashed roughly 1,000 jobs across the company last fall, many of them impacting CBS News.
Ex-staffer Trey Sherman went viral for his TikTok video accusing CBS of implementing race-based layoffs. Notably, he was an associate producer for the CBS streaming program "CBS Evening News+" as well as the CBS Race & Culture Unit, both of which were gutted after Ellison's takeover.
Earlier this year, the network also implemented a buyout program specifically targeting "CBS Evening News" staffers. Roughly 11 staffers accepted the buyout, according to Deadline.
As Ellison took the reins of trimming network staff, Weiss announced in January that CBS News had hired 19 new contributors. Among them were Iranian-born journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, famed historian Niall Ferguson, Free Press columnist Coleman Hughes, journalist Derek Thompson, former National Security Advisor HR McMaster, Harvard economics professor Roland Fryer and longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia.
The timing of the announcement, however, could not have been worse for Attia, whose name appeared more than 1,700 times in a newly released batch of Jeffrey Epstein files and included several personal, eyebrow-raising exchanges.
There had been reports about Weiss wanting to keep Attia at the network amid the public outcry. Ultimately, Attia chose to leave the network he had just joined after less than a month.
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"Dr. Attia's contributor role was newly established and had not yet meaningfully begun. As such, he stepped back to ensure his involvement didn't become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS. He wishes the network and its leadership well and has no further comment at this time," a spokesperson for Attia told Fox News Digital.
Attia took to social media in an attempt to clear his name, expressing regret for putting himself in a bad position but saying he was not involved in criminal activity.
The Tiffany Network was rocked last month by the exit of longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper.
Cooper, who began reporting for the magazine show in the 2006-07 season in tandem with his full-time anchor gig with CNN, reportedly "blindsided" Weiss and CBS leadership when he chose not to renew his contract, citing his family as a reason for rolling back his on-air work.
Weiss reportedly eyed Cooper to anchor "CBS Evening News" before Dokoupil's appointment.
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While Weiss took a hit with the loss of her star "60 Minutes" correspondent, she was able to claim a victory days later with "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, who signed a new contract with the network.
King, a staple of the network's morning programming since 2012, was the subject of tabloid fodder last fall as reports suggested she was on the outs since her contract was set to expire in May.
She called her exit rumors "inaccurate and greatly exaggerated."
"CBS News is my longtime home, and I am committed to our mission," King said in a statement. "I’m excited about continuing at ‘CBS Mornings.’ As always, I’m open to new adventures here and ready to go. It took a minute, but we got there. And now that we are here, I am all in."
Multiple producers were not long for the Weiss era of CBS News. Shortly after January’s bumpy relaunch of "CBS Evening News," the network fired its senior producer Javier Guzman. "CBS Mornings" executive producer Shawna Thomas announced earlier this month that she was leaving the network, telling her colleagues, "I’m tired y’all."
However, two other producers who left CBS suggested they didn’t like the direction of the network.
"There has been a sweeping new vision prioritizing a break from traditional broadcast norms to embrace what has been described as ‘heterodox’ journalism," Alicia Hastey, a former "CBS Evening News" producer, wrote in a memo to colleagues last month. "Stories may instead be evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures producers and reporters to self-censor or avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines… The very excellence we seek to sustain is hindered by fear and uncertainty."
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Mary Walsh, a veteran producer who joined CBS News during the Walter Cronkite days, similarly announced her departure, appearing to object to Ellison and Weiss’ stated mission of appealing to the 70% in the political center versus catering to the far left or far right.
"We’ve been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum. Honestly, I don’t know how to do that," Walsh wrote in a memo.
It’s also been a revolving door when it comes to the network’s correspondents. In December, Weiss poached Matt Gutman from ABC News, making him a chief correspondent. But just this week, CBS News’ justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane announced an abrupt exit, telling colleagues he’s looking forward "to some independence."
MacFarlane, who provided extensive Jan. 6 reporting for the network in recent years, reportedly was upset at the minimal attention "CBS Evening News" gave to the five-year anniversary of the Capitol riot.
One recent hire that has irked the Trump White House has been Jeremy Adler, a former communications staffer for former congresswoman Liz Cheney, a fierce Trump foe. A White House source told Fox News Digital the hire was "mind boggling" calling Adler an "unserious and dishonest person" and that his appointment to CBS News' press shop was a "revenge hire."
While there’s been several on-air shakeups at CBS News, one program that appears to be holding steady is "Face the Nation."
Margaret Brennan, who has helmed the Sunday program since 2018, has become more known in recent years for her viral clashes with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A source familiar with CBS News leadership tells Fox News Digital that they are pleased with Brennan, particularly as "Face the Nation" remains competitive in viewership against its broadcast rivals, separating herself from her network colleagues who struggle on weekdays.
Although he isn't part of CBS' news division, liberal late-night host Stephen Colbert will officially take his final bow in May when "The Late Show" goes off the air, after its cancellation was announced last summer.
Critics accused CBS at the time of currying favor with the Trump administration in order for Paramount to close its Skydance merger, but "The Late Show" was reportedly costing CBS $40 million per year, backing up the network's stance that the cancellation was a financial decision.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.