Critics could say that Norah O'Donnell followed a path that Katie Couric, who became the first
female solo nightly news anchor on a major network, blazed. Couric left CBS News back
in 2011 and cited "sexist viewers" as part of the reason for her departure. She told
NBC's Today show,
"I thought America was really ready for a female anchor of the evening news, and I think
we were just not as far along as I naively thought. I'm not sure if the country was ready
for a female anchor. Maybe they weren't just ready for me as a female anchor because of
their perceptions of me. But I really went there to say a woman can do this job with
competence and confidence."
And while Couric might have paved the way for O'Donnell, who took the lead anchor spot
at CBS News in 2019, there's a new report that suggests the 47-year-old might be in
danger of losing the coveted position at the network, too. However, O'Donnell is running
into a totally different issue than Couric did.
According to the New York Post, there's a chance Norah O'Donnell might lose her anchor
spot at CBS News for two major reasons. First, her hefty paycheck is costing the network
a reported $8 million a year to keep her seat warm in the CBS Evening News studios. Production
also spent a sizable sum to move from New York City to Washington, D.C. to better accommodate
O'Donnell and her family. To make matters worse for O'Donnell, CBS is currently lagging
in the rating race and is stuck in third place, behind network competitors ABC and NBC. This
isn't the only time that viewership has been an issue — O'Donnell's ratings also took
a dip back in 2019, per the New York Post.
O'Donnell herself hasn't commented on the matter but back in 2019, she did tell CBS
Watch Magazine that her main focus is always making sure viewers can trust her. She said,
"I've worked my whole life to make sure that both Republicans and Democrats trust me, and
that I'm going to give them a fair shake, whether it was Joe Biden's first big interview
on '60 Minutes' in 2016 when he decided not to run or Steve Scalise, the most conservative
member of Congress, talking to me."
That trust O'Donnell mentions is certainly hard to come by, but while measured and balanced
reporting certainly is important, it doesn't necessarily translate into viewers.
To add to the speculation, the New York Post also suggested that CBS co-president Neeraj
Khemlani is looking to make some major shake-ups in order to keep a couple of dollars in the
network's pockets. One insider hinted to the site that former ABC executive Wendy McMahon
might be making the move to CBS and that she is not only looking to replace Norah O'Donnell
as the head anchor but also bring production of "CBS Evening News" back to New York City.
There's also speculation that a team of management consultants has been hired to help with the
move back to the Big Apple. One tipster even put it this way saying,
"Neeraj is charged with bringing down costs and boosting profits and he does not understand
why the 'Evening News' is in DC."
Should that happen, it wouldn't be the first "Evening News" shakeup of 2021. Back in July,
the Los Angeles Times reported that executive producer Jay Shaylor had stepped down from
his role. Though CBS didn't give an official reason for his departure, the Times noted
that the evening news program had lagged both ABC and NBC in ratings, though TV ratings
declined across the board as consumers looked to other mediums to consume their news.
Despite the reports, Norah O'Donnell might still have a lifeline at CBS, as Neeraj Khemlani
denied the rumors that "CBS Evening News" is getting a new head anchor or moving back
to New York City for that matter. He told the New York Post,
"Norah's presence in Washington has elevated the CBS Evening News' coverage on all fronts
— politics, breaking news, to big interviews including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
just last week. Her reporting on the military and domestic abuse has won awards and changed
policies in Washington. And in addition to making headlines, the program is gaining audience
share."
While rumors will always fly, it's probably too soon to count O'Donnell out for good.
The broadcaster is still highly respected, with CBS News president Susan Zirinsky telling
the Los Angeles Times in 2019 that,
"Norah is an incredibly fluid broadcaster... She has the ability to take multiple pieces
of information and is able to synthesize them."
O'Donnell, meanwhile, has not made any comments about the matter — if she's even paying
attention to it. In 2013, she told Glamour,
"I'm also relentlessly optimistic. You face challenges in your personal life and in your
professional life. I continue to be relentlessly optimistic and not focus on the negative."
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