CBS News CEO quits amid Trump lawsuit

CBS News' CEO Wendy McMahon has announced she's quitting the network - with a tense statement hinting at her unhappiness at the newsroom's current state. McMahon, 50, made her departure known in a Monday memo to staffers - one that made clear she was taking a stand against Donald Trump and a lawsuit alleging CBS News exhibits bias. The maneuver was first reported by The New York Times, three months after insiders first said McMahon was set to lose her job.

Both she and now-former 60 Minutes boss Owens opposed Paramount heiress Shari Redstone's plans to settle a $20 billion dollar suit being brought by the president that alleges an October 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited. A settlement appears to be the sticking point for the Skydance deal to go through - leaving Owens and and McMahon in higher-ups' crosshairs. 'It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,' McMahon wrote Monday as a result. 'It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.'

'Today, I am stepping down from my position as president and CEO of CBS News and Stations,' McMahon told her team, calling the less than two-year stint plagued by poor ratings 'one of the most meaningful chapters in [her] career.' 'Leading this extraordinary organization has been the honor of a lifetime because I got to work alongside all of you,' the now former CEO and president wrote. 'At the same time, the past few months have been challenging.'

The rest of the statement echoed one offered by Owens after his ouster last month. 'Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,' he wrote at the time, in a memo quickly leaked to the press. 'It’s clear the company is done with me,' he tearfully added at a staff meeting earlier in the day.

Both he and McMahon suggested corporate overreach was what spurred their decisions - both of which were made within weeks of each other as the deadline for the Skydance deal approaches. McMahon - who had tapped Owens to implement her ill-fated vision of a two-host version of CBS Evenings - wrote of her next move: 'It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.' Adding how she has spent the past several months ensuring 'the right leaders are in place', McMahon wrote of such staffers: 'I have no doubt they will continue to set the standard.

She singled out CBS News longtimers like Matt Naber and Robert Breen specifically, and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and CBS Stations President Jennifer Mitchell. The latter two - whom had essentially been McMahon's deputies in their respective spheres of influence - will now begin reporting directly to George Cheeks, the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Global, and President and CEO of CBS. 'To George: Thank you for this opportunity,' McMahon was sure to add. 'To our viewers: Thank you for your trust. You hold us accountable, and you remind us why this work matters.' The apparently ousted 60 Minutes ally concluded with what was presented as a pointed message to her team.

'Thank you for your passion, your professionalism and your partnership,' the former ABC exec who joined CBS News in 2021 to serve as 'co-head' of the station alongside also-out exec Neeraj Khemlani added. 'It has been a privilege to walk this path with you.' Owens, a few weeks ago, assured the same team McMahon was 'fight[ing] for them 'week by week' when it came convincing Paramount into not settling the president's suit.

McMahon and Khemlani - who resigned in 2023 after two years - had been meant to replace Susan Zirinsky, a veteran producer forced out of retirement a few months ago more than 50 years after joining struggling CBS News in 1972. This too was the case with Adrienne Roark, McMahon's old deputy who resigned in February after just seven months in the position, following what a former CBS exec told DailyMail.com was a falling out with McMahon. Her resignation came weeks after McMahon enlisted Owens' help to spearhead a more magazine-style, less headline-driven format noticeably different from the days of Walter Cronkite for the eye network's evening news entry. 

It immediately spawned a ratings slump that showrunners have yet to rectify - with 'Evenings' total average viewers down 14 percent for the year. In terms of the all important 25-54 demo, the drop-off is even worse - 22 percent less than this time in 2024. McMahon, meanwhile, was also said to have had a falling out with her prospective boss over at Skydance, Jeff Shell, according to a February report from Status. That same month, insiders told Puck McMahon's time at the eye network was numbered, and that she would not be with the company when the Skydance deal goes through.

Insiders at the time told DailyMail.com that neither McMahon nor Roark '[had] the editorial experience of leading a national news organizations.' 'Especially... during an election year,' they added. Trump's suit - which names both CBS News and Paramount as defendants - accuses 60 Minutes of selecting a more coherent answer from Harris to help with her candidacy. CBS News - where several staffers have stood behind Owens and McMahon in their quest to protect the program's prestigious reputation - has maintained Harris had merely given a lengthy answer, which was then cut down due to time constraints.

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