Norah O’Donnell is leaving as anchor of CBS Evening News

Norah O’Donnell will hand over the reins of the venerable “CBS Evening News” after the 2024 presidential election in favor of a new role as a senior correspondent who will seek major interviews and opportunities for deeper reporting, the latest major change at CBS News after its operations were merged with parent company Paramount Global’s local TV operations.

O’Donnell, who recently celebrated her fifth year as anchor, sees an opportunity to pursue signature interviews with top newsmakers — something that proved attractive to her after her recent conversation with Pope Francis earlier this year.

“Together, our team has won Emmy, Murrow and DuPont awards. Thanks to COVID, we managed to anchor in the studio; we took the broadcast en route from aircraft carriers to the Middle East and the rest of the world. We were privileged to conduct a historic interview with Pope Francis,” O’Donnell said in a note sent to staff on Tuesday. “There is so much work to be proud of! But I spent 12 years as anchor chair here at CBS News, tied 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 industry, we tend to look at our careers in terms of these milestone events.”

O’Donnell will continue to anchor all of CBS News’ major coverage leading up to the 2024 elections, including the Democratic National Convention, Election Night and more. In her new role, O’Donnell will continue to contribute to “Evening News,” “60 Minutes” and other CBS News programs. The new arrangement is expected to be part of a long-term commitment between the anchor and CBS News.

Still, the maneuver is part of a parade of big changes at CBS News in recent months. The national newsgathering operation was merged with the CBS stations in 2021 and was further consolidated late last year under the management supervision of Wendy McMahon, who also oversees CBS’s syndicated operations. In July, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, a veteran journalism executive who was named president of news unit Paramount Global last August, told staffers she would be stepping down from her role in favor of consulting duties; CBS has not yet named her replacement.

Under McMahon, CBS News has intensified its focus on using both national and local journalists for broader reporting, and recently unveiled a new “whip-around” streaming concept that relies on contributions from both CBS News journalists and the newsrooms of several CBS media. own local channels.

McMahon sees O’Donnell’s shift as one that will help her broader efforts. “Norah’s superpower is her ability to masterfully deliver unparalleled interviews and stories that define the news cycle and capture the cultural zeitgeist,” McMahon said in a memo, adding: “How many people can effortlessly transition from anchoring in an airplane? aircraft carrier in the Red Sea to work with Bono and Dolly Parton? Norah’s work here is legendary, and she has several major interviews in her works that will be as memorable as they are memorable.

In some ways, this move emulates that of ABC News, where Diane Sawyer was set up as a kind of roving correspondent who could take on stories and interviews that made news in their own right but were not necessarily connected to the immediate news cycle.

O’Donnell’s work at “CBS Evening News” is recognized by many arbiters of quality journalism. She has long examined how the military investigates claims of sexual harassment and abuse; both her father and sister served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

At the same time, the August show, which has ties to Walter Cronkite, has for decades ranked third behind ABC’s “World News Tonight” and NBC’s “NBC Nightly News.” CBS News executives have considered alternatives to the program in the past. O’Donnell took the show to Washington, D.C., instead of its longtime home in New York City, in an effort to cover the country’s tumultuous political cycle.

While ABC News and CBS News have supported evening news for years with anchors like Sawyer and David Muir or Brian Williams and Lester Holt, CBS News continues to tinker with the talent behind the desks. Since Dan Rather’s departure in 2005, CBS has tapped Bob Schieffer, Katie Couric, Harry Smith, Scott Pelley, Anthony Mason and Jeff Glor.

CBS News has not named a replacement for O’Donnell. Among those who could be considered potential successors are Margaret Brennan, the moderator of Face The Nation, and Major Garrett, the Washington correspondent, both of whom sometimes fill in when O’Donnell is free or on assignment; James Brown, the moderator of “NFL Today” and special correspondent for CBS News, who also fills in occasionally; or weekend anchors Jericka Duncan or Adriana Diaz.