Norah O’Donnell anchored her final CBS Evening News on Thursday, with an Oprah Winfrey-narrated sendoff and a message to viewers that her tenure “has been the honor of a lifetime.”
“The CBS Evening News is, for good reason, the longest running evening newscast in America, and it has been powered by the finest journalists around the world — the correspondents, producers and researchers and crews who work tirelessly to bring you the news every night,” O’Donnell said. “And that won’t change, because journalism matters. I know that, because I have heard it from so many of you viewers.”
“So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting us and welcoming hard news with heart into your homes.”
Winfrey narrated highlights from O’Donnell’s tenure, saying that “through countless hours of breaking news, and nearly 1,300 broadcasts … you have treated each story with grace and compassion.”
O’Donnell has anchored since 2019, and brought the newscast to Washington, D.C. Although it has remained in third place, she stood out for landing some high-profile interviews, including Pope Francis, and for investigations into sexual assault in the military that led to congressional action.
On Monday, CBS will introduce an overhauled evening newscast anchored by John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois, with the broadcast moving back to New York, and Margaret Brennan serving as lead correspondent from Washington, D.C.
A promo for the revamped broadcast places emphasis on correspondents and their stories, not the new anchors. Bill Owens, executive producer of 60 Minutes, also will oversee the evening news broadcast, and the show is expected to feature more segments with correspondents from the newsmagazine.
O’Donnell will remain at the network as senior correspondent. Her departure in many ways reflects what has been happening across broadcast and cable networks. As viewer habits have shifted to streaming and social media, they have been trimming costs across the board, and with it some of the emphasis on high-profile — and highly paid — star anchors.
Earlier this month, Hoda Kotb departed as co-host of Today, also with a Winfrey sendoff, and Chris Wallace left CNN as his contract ended.
