‘CBS Evening News’ will get massive overhaul, return to NYC after Norah O’Donnell exits
CBS News plans to tear up the template that the vaunted Tiffany Network created for evening newscasts when Norah O’Donnell gives up the anchor chair this fall — instead launching a “60 Minutes”-style show featuring four veteran journalists, the company announced Thursday.
The massive revamp for the last-placed “Evening News” includes decamping from its Washington D.C. digs and moving back to CBS’ Broadcast Center in Hell’s Kitchen — where it will be co-anchored by veteran CBS News journalist John Dickerson and WCBS-TV anchorman Maurice DuBois.
“Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan will lead political and foreign affairs coverage out of DC, and Lonnie Quinn will become the chief weathercaster in a new format that will be “supervised” by “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens.
Owens — whose “60 Minutes” is a prestigious and profitable engine for the network — will “be instrumental in shaping the future” of the show, “while also enhancing our editorial capabilities and decision-making across CBS News and Stations,” CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said.
The shake-up of the poorly rated evening news program comes as McMahon moved O’Donnell out of the anchor chair Tuesday ahead of steep cuts expected to begin this month.
One CBS insider called the new moves a “PR stunt” and “window dressing.”
“’60 Minutes’ doesn’t do a lot of breaking news,” the source noted.
Another source said O’Donnell’s ouster from the anchor chair doesn’t bode well for the network’s other top talent.
“To me this is a signal that the layoffs in August are going to be huge, wide and deep and nobody’s off limits,” the source predicted.
Owens, meanwhile, said he hopes to bring strong storytelling back to the “Evening News,” whose stable of illustrious anchors included Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.
“The Evening News was a defining part of my career and it remains the broadcast of record,” Owens said, touting the importance of the show’s return to New York after it was moved to DC in 2019 under former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky.
“This broadcast won’t be the traditional headlines that move from one clipped story to the next. There will be a new format and cadence for how we deliver the news,” he added.
Veteran producer Guy Campanile will become executive producer and Jerry Cipriano will return as senior news editor and producer, Owens added.
CBS News brass hopes the changes will boost ratings, which have been sinking under O’Donnell.
Although the 50-year-old anchor scored some big interviews over the years, the “Evening News” averaged just 4.4 million total viewers in the most recent quarter and less than 600,000 in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic.
During O’Donnell’s five years in the anchor seat, her ratings plunged roughly 25%, cementing her behind ABC’s top-rated “World News Tonight” and “NBC Nightly News.
The veteran journalist will move to a new role as senior correspondent, where she will focus on bigger interviews, after the presidential election in November.
Her announced departure comes as CBS-parent Paramount Global is expected to slash $500 million ahead of its likely merger with Skydance Media.
