Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
less than a year After assuming the anchor seat But CBS Evening NewsJohn Dickerson revealed Monday that not only is he leaving the weeknight newscast within the next two months, but his time at the Tiffany Network is coming to an end after 16 years.
Dickerson’s departure came as Bari Weiss, The network’s new “anti-woke” editor-in-chief, ‘Openly considering redesigning CBS News’ Evergreen Third Place Evening Program – Who saw him courting Fox News chief political anchor Brett Baier and CNN mainstay Anderson Cooper will take over the broadcast.
His impending exit also represents the first high-profile talent exit from the network Media mogul David Ellison becomes chairman of parent company Paramount That follows a politically charged $8 billion merger with Skydance last summer. Just weeks before the Trump administration approved the deal, Paramount Donald Trump paid $16 million to settle A “meritless” lawsuit 60 minutes Interview with Kamala Harris.
“It’s a huge loss,” said a senior CBS News staffer. IndependentWhile another network employee said it felt as if the network “wanted him to fail.”
CBS News and representatives for Dickerson did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, other CBS News sources expressed their “disappointment” at Dickerson’s departure from the network after a long career that also included hosting CBS News’ flagship morning program and Sunday political talk show. A network reporter said, “He is a true journalist.”
Dickerson’s exit from the network was first announced internally during Monday’s 10 a.m. editorial morning news call, prompting the longtime CBS anchor to immediately publicly reveal on his social media that he was leaving the network.
“At the end of this year, I will be leaving CBS, 16 years after I joined it face the nation Anchor for the first time,” he said wrote on instagram“I am extremely grateful for everything CBS has given me – the work, the audience’s attention and the honor of being part of the network’s history – and I am grateful to my dear colleagues who have made me a better journalist and a better person. I will miss you.”
In a separate note, CBS News president Tom Sibrowski said Dickerson will continue to host CBS Evening News leading up to the holidays, saying the veteran anchor “epitomizes the best of journalism” and “there will be ample time to thank him for his work here and honor his contributions to our success.” Cibrowski also described the decision as similar to Dickerson’s and said he had “decided” to step away from the network.
it was Dickerson was tapped exactly one year ago To replace Norah O’Donnell CBS Evening NewsBecause the company decided to go with a two-man anchor team featuring Dickerson and reporter Maurice DuBois. This change not only caused O’Donnell to step down as the face of the program, but the network moved the show back to New York City.
experiments, which network insiders initially said were “Excited and Afraid” O’Donnell’s leadership of “nothing was really working” has so far been seen as largely unsuccessful. The show’s ratings continued to decline, and the weeknight broadcast fell even further behind its broadcast counterparts.
While the employees I spoke to Independent Regarding Dickerson’s departure, he said he was “not surprised”, especially amid the new corporate ownership and Weiss’s installation as the newsroom’s editorial leader, but he still expressed sadness at her departure and felt that her departure worsened the network’s standing.
“He’s an excellent journalist, a good guy, and that’s the kind of person you want in a newsroom,” said a senior network employee, adding that the combination of Weiss’s arrival and efforts to once again revamp the evening newscast “was probably too much for him.”
Noting that Dickerson has held “almost every major job” at the network during her tenure, the senior staffer commented that the anchor has “traveled quite a bit” at CBS News. apart from CBS Evening NewsDickerson also served as main anchor face the nation And cbs morningand reported for the network’s famous news magazine, 60 minutes,
The staffer commented, “Still, it’s a huge loss for the newsroom”.
While praising Dickerson as a “true journalist”, one network reporter said there was “a lot of disappointment” among the news staff at the anchor’s exit. Meanwhile, a longtime journalist at the network praised Dickerson’s reporting, suggesting that he should not bear most of the blame for the evening broadcast’s consistently soft ratings.
The source said, “Very sad and disappointed. He knew how to ask solid questions and get interesting people to speak. This is a huge loss for CBS.”
Insisting that Dickerson was not given enough corporate support to succeed during his short tenure CBS Evening NewsThe source said: “It’s like they wanted him to fail.” When Dickerson first replaced O’Donnell, the staff was “extremely excited” The show may echo editorial sensibilities 60 minutes and previous iterations of the evening broadcast.
While Dickerson is the first high-profile on-air talent to leave during the Ellison/Weiss era, his departure announcement comes less than two weeks after the head of the news division’s standards. submitted his resignation,
In her announcement to staff this month, Claudia Milne — whose father was editor of the CBS News London bureau for three decades — urged the network’s journalists to “keep asking those tough questions” and “hold the powerful accountable.” Like Milne, Dickerson also has a family legacy at the network, as her mother was the first female correspondent for CBS News.
Before Paramount closed its deal with Ellison’s Skydance Media, Dickerson Took a subtle on-air swipe On his then-corporate bosses for compromising with Trump and paying him millions of dollars for it 60 minutes Let the lawsuit go away.
“Can you still hold the book to account after paying you millions? Can an audience trust you when they think you’ve betrayed that trust?” Dickerson reflected when breaking the news about the agreement. He also mentioned the potential role of merger in the deal with Trump.
“That deal requires Trump administration approval,” he concluded. “The corporation said the settlement of the Trump lawsuit is completely separate and unrelated to the merger. Ultimately, Paramount decided to settle a lawsuit it said was without basis in law and fact and an insult to the First Amendment.”
Since Ellison’s takeover of Paramount in August, CBS News has been in the midst of a restructuring that has sparked criticism that the 42-year-old executive — whose father is mega-billionaire and close Trump ally Larry Ellison — is shifting the network’s coverage to the right to appeal to the president.
In addition to hiring Contradictory to “radically centrist” Weiss and its “heterodox” digital outlet The Free Press have been bought by Ellison installed A former Trump man appointed as ombudsman to address “bias complaints” at CBS News revamp face the nation editing rules After complaints from the White House.
Meanwhile, just a year after revamping the evening broadcast, Weiss is trying to make a splash by potentially bringing in a big name early in his tenure. CBS Evening News,
According to sources familiar with the situationWeiss has mentioned that she would like to bring on Bayer — though it seems highly unlikely that the Fox News star would part ways with the conservative cable giant. Not only is Byer making $14 million a year, but he’s locked into a contract until 2028 — meaning Fox owners Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch will have to let him out of his deal so he can depart for a network rival.
However, the conversation surrounding Baier has created additional concerns among the staff about the editorial direction Ellison and Weiss have in mind for the network. However, at the same time, Weiss has toss up other names To host a nightly news show that would not be seen as conservative-leaning.
Cooper, who also serves as a special correspondent 60 minutesApparently Weiss has a goal high on his list. However, like Baier, the CNN anchor is also locked into a high-dollar contract. Sources also said he was “not interested.” Of course, with Alison Eyeing Trump-approved acquisition According to CNN’s corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, it is also possible that CBS News and CNN could soon become part of a larger news operation managed by Weiss.
Additionally, there is also Weiss Considering bringing back O’Donnell – who is lobbying hard for a behind-the-scenes role anchoring the evening programme. cbs morning Co-anchor Tony Dokoupil, whom The Free Press defended fiercely After The network’s news leaders reprimanded him He’s also in the mix for his combative interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates last year over Gaza.
Amid all the changes going on at the network, the newsroom is also preparing for imminent layoffs, as Ellison has vowed to cut $2 billion from Paramount’s books – meaning up to ten percent of the CBS News staff will be cut. Those layoffs are expected to be announced this week.