CBS Evening News anchor John Dickerson announced Monday he is leaving the network at the end of the year.
Dickerson had co-hosted the broadcast with Maurice DuBois since January and was also a chief political analyst and senior national correspondent. He previously appeared on “60 Minutes,” co-anchored “CBS This Morning” and moderated “Face the Nation.”
“At the end of this year, I will leave CBS, sixteen years after I sat in as ‘Face the Nation’ anchor for the first time,” Dickerson wrote on Instagram with a photo gallery of moments over the years. “I am extremely grateful for all that CBS gave me — the work, the audience’s attention and the honor of being a part of the network’s history — and I am grateful for my dear colleagues who’ve made me a better journalist and a better human. I will miss you.”
Deadline reported that the evening news broadcast suffered in the ratings, but Dickerson’s exit also comes amid a regime change. Conservative journalist Bari Weiss, called “Trump-friendly” by MSNBC, was hired as CBS News’ editor-in-chief earlier this month. Skydance recently acquired CBS parent Paramount and Weiss is thought to be someone who will push the network further right.
In a recent meeting, she provocatively asked “60 Minutes” staffers why the country thinks the show is biased.
Paramount recently settled a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump for $16 million after the president accused it of editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to the point it could have boosted her chances to win the 2024 election. Dickerson questioned the decision to pay Trump and said during a broadcast, “Can you hold power to account after paying it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you’ve traded away that trust?”
“After 16 years at CBS News and contributing to every program here, John Dickerson has decided to step away at the end of the year. John epitomizes the very best of journalism,” CBS News president Tom Cibrowski said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “He will co-anchor the ‘CBS Evening News’ until the holidays, when he will say farewell. Until then, we’ll have plenty of time to thank him for his work here and honor his contributions to our success.”