Gayle King Goes ‘Off Script’ to Address Changes at ‘CBS This Morning’

Gayle King Address CBS This Morning Changes (Credit: CBS)

CBS is shuffling its morning news team, again.

The network announced Monday that Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson are leaving CBS This Morning, and Gayle King will be joined by two new co-hosts.

O’Donnell is moving to CBS Evening News, as anchor and managing editor, replacing Jeff Glor. Dickerson is joining 60 Minutes and will also have a prominent role in the network’s election coverage.

The announcement came days after Page Six reported that Gayle King had “pushed out” O’Donnell from
CBS This Morning, saying King’s stock had soared following her widely praised interview with R. Kelly.

During Monday’s broadcast, King went “off script” to deny rumors that she wanted to get rid of O’Donnell.

“It’s so amazing to me, Nora, that after seven years together, that now people would say that you and I have some beef,” she told O’Donnell. “I have no beef with you, you have no beef with me.”

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O’Donnell responded by calling King her “work BFF.”

“You made me better in everything I have done,” O’Donnell told her.

CBS This Morning News Team (Credit: CBS)
Dickerson and O’Donnell are moving to other CBS News programs. (Credit: CBS)

With O’Donnell and Dickerson leaving CBS This Morning, King will be joined by CBS News correspondents Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil, CBS News President Susan Zirinsky announced in a statement.

“This is a start of a new era for CBS News,” said Zirinsky. “Our job is to reveal America to itself through original reporting, strong investigative journalism and powerful political coverage.”

Zirinsky also praised King for her “unrivaled ability.”

“Gayle’s game-changing interviews, compassionate storytelling and authenticity make her one of a kind. Her unrivaled ability to connect with audiences makes CBS This Morning relevant, relatable and the place you must start your day,” she said.

Read More: R. Kelly Loses It in Explosive Interview With Gayle King

The changes come as the network’s morning and evening news programs struggle in the ratings behind NBC and ABC. The perennial third place CBS shows took additional hits following a series of changes in 2017. That’s when Charlie Rose left CBS This Morning amid sexual misconduct allegations. That same year, Glor replaced Scott Pelley, who was pushed out while on assignment.

CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell begins this summer in New York and will move to Washington, D.C. in the fall.

Zirinsky said changing the show’s location “adds to the importance and stature of the broadcast and will give CBS News unique access to top lawmakers, whose decisions have a profound impact on all Americans.”

However, longtime Evening News staffers have anonymously expressed concerns in media reports about uprooting their lives for the long-rumored move. Also unclear is what will happen to Glor.

“We are grateful to Jeff Glor for his award-winning work and his commitment to both his colleagues and to our viewers,” Zirinsky said. “We are discussing opportunities for Jeff to remain with CBS News and continue providing the same substantive, trusted reporting that he has been offering for the past 12 years.”