Katie Couric, the former anchor of CBS Evening News, weighed in on the network’s recent overhaul of the nightly broadcast, calling it “more than a little disappointing” that Norah O’Donnell’s successors will be two male anchors.
The network recently announced that John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois would be anchoring CBS Evening News after O’Donnell’s steps down following the November election.
Couric wrote in an op ed in The New York Times, “Don’t get me wrong: I know, like and respect these two journalists. But soon, on the big three networks, there will be four male anchors. Yes, the talented Margaret Brennan will be contributing stories from the Washington bureau for CBS, but the two people who will be greeting Americans watching the CBS evening newscast will be men.”
As Couric noted, after the change, the three broadcast networks’ evening newscasts all will be anchored by men, with Lester Holt at NBC and David Muir at ABC. Brennan, moderator of Face the Nation, will be a regular contributor to the CBS broadcast, leading coverage of political news from Washington, D.C.
The news division is overseen by a woman, Wendy McMahon, who is CEO of CBS News and Stations. Last week, McMahon unveiled a new leadership structure at the network, with Adrienne Roark and Jennifer Mitchell taking on expanded roles. Roark was named president of editorial and newsgathering for CBS News and Stations, and Mitchell was named president of stations and digital for the division.
Couric wrote, “Nearly 20 years ago, I wanted to be the face of “CBS Evening News” because I knew that for the audience — especially little girls and little boys watching at dinner time — the image of a solo woman anchor could be game changing. Whether it’s in politics, sports or other once-male-dominated fields, seeing diversity in leadership inspires our imagination about who can and should fill these roles.
“The incoming anchors and executives will be curating the evening news for an aging audience — when you watch the commercials, it’s pretty evident which demographic is tuning in — but the broadcast still attracts over four million viewers on average every night. It’s odd and more than a little out of touch that even while CBS has announced a restructuring that introduces an additional layer of women executives, the leading editorial decision makers will mostly be men.”
Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, will take on added responsibilities as supervising producer of the CBS Evening News.
O’Donnell, who has anchored since 2019, will continue at the network as senior correspondent, with a focus on “big get” interviews. She was the second woman to solo anchor the CBS Evening News, after Couric led the broadcast from 2006 to 2011. Connie Chung co-anchored the newscast with Dan Rather from 1993 to 1995.
Couric noted that CBS News parent Paramount Global is in the midst of widespread staff and cost cutting, while the nightly newscasts don’t have the impact that the once did.
“But even an industry that may one day be fully seen as a relic of a bygone era needs to be mindful of societal changes that have swept the country,” she wrote, noting the impact of women athletes at the Olympics and the possibility that a woman will be elected president this fall.
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