CBS News correspondents Adriana Diaz and Kelly O’Grady are poised to become the co-hosts of “CBS Saturday Morning” during an ongoing shakeup at the network, The Post has learned.
A source with knowledge of the matter said Monday the duo are in contract talks to grab the reins after former “CBS Saturday Morning” co-anchors Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller wrapped up their final show late last month.
The Post exclusively reported Jackson and Miller were on the chopping block in late October, though their replacements are yet to be officially announced.
CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is expected to shed light on the changes during a Dec. 15 town hall to staff, where she will also lay out her vision for the network, a second source told The Post.
Insiders said O’Grady, a former Fox Business correspondent who came to CBS late last year, has impressed Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski.
Diaz started at CBS News in 2016 in the Beijing bureau before moving up the chain to anchor “CBS Weekend News” and the now-defunct “CBS Mornings Plus.”
A rep for CBS News declined to comment.
One CBS source called the hires a “smart move” because both women are sharpening their craft to one day be considered for bigger anchoring gigs at the network.
“CBS needs to build its bench,” the person added, noting that right now, it is “empty”.
The upheaval comes as CBS parent Paramount Skydance has mandated roughly $3 billion in cost cuts across the company.
“CBS Saturday Morning” saw its first round of cuts in late October. Aside from axing the two anchors, the network also laid off its executive producer Brian Applegate, along with a host of staffers. In order to keep costs low, the 28-year-old show, which airs nationwide from 7 to 9 a.m. ET Saturdays, now shares production staff with “CBS Mornings.”
One insider said the program was “costly” and that Miller and Jacobson were “not cheap.” Exactly how much the duo were bringing in could not immediately be learned, but two sources with knowledge of CBS’ pay scale speculated that they were bringing in over $1 million together — and that Diaz and O’Grady likely make much less.
The network is expected to do a second batch of firings and announce a slew of changes in the coming days — including announcing “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Tony Dokoupil as “CBS Evening News’” next anchor, as first reported by The Post.
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