Katie Couric says CBS' decision to replace Norah O'Donnell with 2 men is 'out of touch'
Katie Couric is calling out CBS News for being "out of touch" after the network announced two male anchors would replace host Norah O'Donnell on "CBS Evening News."
Couric, in an op-ed for the New York Times, said "it was a little disappointing to read that Ms. O’Donnell would be replaced by two men, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois." The renowned journalist and host added that though she respects both men, the decision to have them on the screens in the current political and social landscape struck her as odd especially since CBS announced the inclusion of more women in executive roles.
"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," Couric said.
O'Donnell, in July, announced she would be stepping down as lead anchor on "CBS Evening News" after the November elections to move to a different role at CBS. She was the third female solo anchor of a network evening newscast, following ABC's Diane Sawyer and Couric.
Earlier this month, CBS News and Stations announced Adrienne Roark as president of editorial and newsgathering and Jennifer Mitchell as president of stations and digital as part of a larger organizational shift for the company, according to The Wrap.
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“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we write the future of CBS News and Stations,” CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures Wendy McMahon, had said in a statement, as per The Wrap. "This structure is designed to support and build our next-generation news organization.”
Roark took over editorial leadership responsibilities from Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, who transitioned to a new role as CBS News’ senior editorial adviser, the Wrap reported. Meanwhile, longtime CBS News executive Terri Stewart was named senior vice president of newsgathering while Wendy Fisher was named senior vice president of editorial.
Diversity: Need of the hour
Referring to recent events such as Paris Olympics 2024, where women athletes equaled men in numbers for the first time in history, and Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, Couric argued that a "potentially historic story," one that "could result in the election of the first woman president, and first woman of color as president" "needs a diverse group of journalists covering it."
While Margaret Brennan will be contributing stories to CBS from the Washington bureau for CBS, "the two people who will be greeting Americans watching the CBS evening newscast will be men," Couric said.
Couric, who was previously also a lead and solo anchor at "CBS Evening News," from 2006 to 2011, said she wanted to be the face of "CBS Evening News" nearly 20 years ago because she wanted to inspire a generation of young boys and girls watching her at dinnertime.
"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," Couric said.
The journalist added while she loved working with some of the three white men - Bill Owens, Guy Campanile and Jerry Cipriano - making most of the editorial decisions, "male writers occasionally have blind spots." Couric said while she was at CBS she read a copy written by one of her male colleagues on Hillary Clinton which was subtly sexist.
"Installing Mr. Dickerson and Mr. DuBois as the new anchors was likely an easy decision, as they’re already on the payroll," Couric said, explaining how TV audiences are declining resulting in low revenues and eventual budget cuts and layoffs.
"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," Couric wrote.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY