According to Page Six, former WFSB anchor Gayle King is not leaving CBS Mornings at least for another year. She has been working under a one year extension of her contract and apparently wants to stay with the network at least until Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media is complete, and perhaps through the mid-term elections in 2026.
That planned merger has the potential to wreak havoc inside CBS News mainly because of its relationship to a lawsuit filed by President Trump against 60 Minutes. Trump sued the flagship show for $20 billion over its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. In an effort to ensure FCC approval of the merger, Paramount is making every effort to come to a settlement with Trump.
Those negotiations have already led to the resignations of CBS News President Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens.
In an interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour, published this weekend, 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl – who has been with CBS for more than 50 years – said when Owens resigned there was talk of “en masse” resignations. Owens begged the 60 Minutes staff to remain on the job.
The revelation by Stahl shows the extent of concern inside CBS News about what the future holds. 60 Minutes has been on the air for almost 60 years. Imagine the fallout inside the network and in the world of journalism if the show were to collapse under new ownership.
