Gayle King to leave CBS Mornings slot as Paramount Skydance new owners gamble on more conservative viewership in the latest shake out at media conglomerate and appeasement to Trump, but will it work?
Gayle King, who has been the face of CBS News‘ morning show for more than a decade, is expected to depart as an anchor of the morning program next year, according to Variety.
King in the interim is expected to remain at her current slot with her existing contract expiring in May.
Woke anchor latest victim of mega merger with Skydance
While it remained unclear if 70 year old ‘woke’ anchor would continue to remain at the station after May, sources intimated that King may shift to a different role at the news division. Preliminary whispers include having King potentially produce her own programming for the network.
The anticipated measure would mirror that of Norah O’Donnell, who previously anchored ‘CBS Evening News,’ who stepped down from that role in January and transitioning as a senior correspondent for CBS News, contributing to a range of programs and coverage.
Offered CBS in a statement to Variety: ‘There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026. She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future.’
The announcement comes amid the tv station’s overhaul as Paramount are set to merge with Skydance in an $8 billion deal. The completion of the deal in July led to Skydance Media CEO David Ellison (son of Oracle CEO billionaire, Larry Ellison) becoming the chairman and CEO of the combined mega company.
The merger hints at measures to appease right-leaning viewpoints and a shift away from policies that critics have labeled ‘woke.’ The move seemingly corresponds to the Trump administration‘s coercion criticism of the ‘radical-left’ corporate media.
Gayle King, latest media casualty of Trump criticism?
The new power structure has led to Paramount cutting ties with dozens of staffers at CBS News and hundreds more across the larger company. King would be the latest in a cadre of top CBS talent to leave their current roles as the company’s new ownership shifts from the Redstones, the former controlling shareholders, to the Ellisons, who have expressed a desire to move CBS News away from content they feel ’tilts too hard toward the liberal.’
Seeking to ‘balance’ out the editorial direction of the new media conglomerate, media bosses nominated Bari Weiss, who previously headed up conservative opinion site The Free Press, as editor in chief of CBS News earlier this month. King’s future at the division was in the weeks past rumored to be high in the ‘pressing’ issues Weiss would seek to address.
Gayle King’s ‘anticipated’ exit comes off the heels of the new owners ‘tightening their grip on Paramount.’
Other woke casualties include, ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ which will end in May, ahead of the official sale of Paramount to Skydance Media. The network has already sought to overhaul its weekend programs, indicating that a stable of long time staffers leaving.
King, despite her criticism of being woke and too ‘multi-cultural’ continues to have a dedicated following and the move to ‘re-route’ her may end up backfiring, especially if fans of the morning show believe her ouster re-scheduling was unwarranted. That could lead to morning viewers switching over to rivals like NBC’s “Today” or ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
At the same time, CBS’s morning programs have long run in third place behind NBC and ABC, despite multiple changes of format and the talent behind the early-hours desk. With insiders speculating the move to ‘quietly’ move King out might be a segue way to bring in a new star presenter, albeit one who ‘connects’ with more ‘conservative’ viewers….or at the very least, ‘conservative’ media owners.
