Norah O’Donnell has been tapped to return to CBS News’ morning show as a co-anchor, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
O’Donnell, who was also recently made a “60 Minutes” correspondent, will join current hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson in the re-launched “CBS Mornings” show starting Tuesday, the source told The Post.
Jon Tower, the producer of “CBS Mornings,” told staffers in a memo sent Thursday about O’Donnell’s “homecoming.”
“As we all know, for seven years, Norah helped lead CBS This Morning alongside Gayle, creating one of the most memorable partnerships in the history of morning news. They have a friendship and chemistry that extends beyond the studio,” Tower wrote in a copy of the memo obtained by The Post.
“They know each other, respect each other, and – maybe most importantly – genuinely enjoy each other. To put it simply, I can’t think of a team I’d rather watch navigate the news than Gayle, Nate and Norah.
“Please join me in welcoming Norah home.”
O’Donnell previously co-hosted the program – then called “CBS This Morning – with King and Charlie Rose, who was ousted over sexual harassment allegations in 2017.
The journalist was then promoted to anchor of “CBS Evening News” in 2019 and held the gig for five years. O’Donnell was ousted from the role amid slumping ratings under then-CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, who sought to reimagine the program with co-anchors Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson.
That version of the show brought in even worse ratings and was soon revamped under CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who replaced the co-anchors with Tony Dokoupil, King and Burleson’s co-host on “CBS Mornings.”
Dokoupil’s morning chair has remained open since he left the program in January, and Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski have tried out a rotation of substitutes with little success.
The last-place morning show saw its ratings fall to historic lows, hovering between 1.6 million and 1.7 million total viewers on average.
Weiss and Cibrowski are hoping O’Donnell can bring back some stability to the show as she’s set to reunite with King when the program kicks off its new season in September.
As first reported by The Post, O’Donnell had long been rumored as a leading contender for the job and had sparked speculation since February. More recently, O’Donnell appeared in promotional videos for the show, raising eyebrows among the rank-and-file.
King was blindsided and upset over O’Donnell’s potential return, given the sometimes tense relationship between the two stars, sources recently told The Post.
CBS News is expected to roll out more changes to the show, including a format that takes cues from MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”
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