CBS News is offering buyouts to non-unionized staffers at its “Evening News” program, three sources familiar with the matter told TheWrap, nearly a month after anchor Tony Dokoupil began his rocky start to his tenure as host and a day after the organization’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, laid out her vision for the network’s future.
The voluntary buyouts followed an NPR report on Tuesday that said Weiss planned to implement staff cuts within CBS News in the coming weeks. CBS News had no comment.
It was unclear how many staffers were offered the packages, the terms of the buyout offer or how long staffers had to accept the buyouts. The fact that there are buyouts at all, however, reflects the desire of Weiss, Dokoupil and executive producer Kim Harvey to remake the program to fit the network’s new mission.
Dokoupil’s nearly monthlong tenure atop the program has been scrutinized by CBS News staffers and media critics over his congenial coverage of the Trump administration. His interviews with Trump himself and some of his administration figures have been criticized for his friendly attitude, as has his coverage of memes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
His first week also saw the ouster of the show’s No. 2 producer, Javier Guzman, which one source told TheWrap stemmed from disagreements with Harvey, while the show’s ratings have also largely remained behind his ABC and NBC competitors.
Still, Weiss appeared bullish about the show and the network’s future during an all-hands meeting on Tuesday. She said she wanted to propel CBS News forward and make it “fit for purpose in the 21st century,” though when asked about layoffs, she evaded the prospect and said that she couldn‘t rule out staff changes as part of the network’s transformation.
Wednesday’s buyouts also come after the network laid off roughly 100 employees in October, including axing the streaming counterpart to “Evening News,” as part of cost cuts that stemmed from Paramount’s merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. Paramount is expected to cut another 1,000 people.
