CBS News is now reportedly facing renewed questions about leadership and direction as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss reportedly looks for ways to reduce costs, including offloading the high salary of longtime morning show host Gayle King amid an ongoing restructuring of the network.
The development was detailed in a Tuesday morning report from Variety, which described growing dysfunction inside CBS News since Weiss’s arrival at the top. According to the report, Weiss has come under heavy scrutiny for several editorial decisions that have unsettled staff and drawn outside attention, most notably a last-minute move to delay a 60 Minutes segment on the Salvadoran prison known as CECOT.
That decision became a flashpoint inside the newsroom and added to broader concerns about leadership and consistency. The report noted that Weiss has faced criticism not only for that delay but also for programming choices that have failed to deliver results despite heavy promotion.
One such example was Weiss’s town hall event with Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The town hall was promoted extensively across CBS platforms, but despite the network’s push, the event ended up as a ratings disappointment, according to Variety. The lackluster performance reportedly raised further doubts about programming strategy and audience connection under the new leadership.
With those issues in the background, Variety reported that Weiss may now be turning her attention to CBS’s morning programming. The report suggested that Weiss is “only getting started” with changes and is increasingly focused on CBS Mornings, particularly as financial pressures mount in what the outlet described as a weaker media economy.
Central to that focus is Gayle King’s salary, which one person familiar with the network estimated at around $15 million per year. According to Variety, that figure is increasingly seen as unsustainable given the current economic realities facing legacy media organizations.
The report said King is considering a range of possible options as the network evaluates its next steps. One possibility would move her into a special correspondent role, allowing her to make appearances across CBS News platforms without serving as a regular morning host. Another option under discussion could keep King on the air for an additional year at a reduced salary, providing her with 12 months to formally say goodbye to viewers.
The internal shakeup comes as CBS News continues to deal with fallout from the delayed CECOT report. This past Sunday, 60 Minutes finally aired the segment after weeks of controversy. Weiss had previously insisted the delay was due to a lack of input from the Trump administration.
However, when the report ultimately aired, it did so without any additional input from the administration. According to 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, the administration declined multiple interview requests. Alfonsi also said the Department of Homeland Security chose to refer all questions to CECOT itself and to El Salvador’s authoritarian government.
The sequence of events surrounding the CECOT report has only added to the perception of instability within CBS News. As Weiss continues her efforts to reshape the network, questions remain about whether cost-cutting measures and leadership changes will restore confidence or deepen internal divisions.
For now, the Variety report paints a picture of a legacy news organization struggling to balance editorial direction, financial realities, and audience expectations, with Gayle King’s future now emerging as a symbol of the broader challenges facing CBS News.
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