As many of you might know, I anchored the CBS Evening News from 2006 until 2011 and always took great pride in the fact that I was the first woman to solo anchor a nighttime newscast. I was replaced by two men — Scott Pelley and then Jeff Glor — before Norah O’Donnell was given the job.
I don’t get to watch evening newscasts that often — like most Americans, I get my news online. But when I’m home at 6:30 p.m. I always turn to Norah — partially in solidarity, but mostly because I think she does a great job. I was so proud of her (and a bit jealous) when she snagged an interview with the Pope, and appreciated her dogged pursuit of the pontiff and her thoughtful questions.
So when she announced she was stepping down, I wanted to write a bit of homage to her and a critique of thinking behind her replacement…or in this case, replacements. Here’s a preview of what I wrote in a new op-ed for the New York Times:
“The incoming anchors and executives will be curating the evening news for an aging audience — when you watch the commercials, it’s pretty evident which demographic is tuning in — but the broadcast still attracts over four million viewers on average every night. It’s odd and more than a little out of touch that even while CBS has announced a restructuring that introduces an additional layer of women executives, the leading editorial decision makers will mostly be men.”
Read my full op-ed right here.
