John Dickerson, a longtime CBS News journalist, has become the latest high-profile figure to resign from the network amid concerns about its ownership and ability to maintain editorial independence.
Dickerson, who over 16 years at the news organization has served in a variety of roles, including moderator of Face the Nation and chief political analyst, announced on Instagram that he would leave at the end of the year. The news was also shared during a morning meeting of CBS Evening News staff.
“I am extremely grateful for all that CBS gave me – the work, the audience’s attention and the honor of being a part of the network’s history – and I am grateful for my dear colleagues who’ve made me a better journalist and a better human,” wrote Dickerson, who has been serving as co-anchor of CBS Evening News.
Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor-in-chief, is expected to revamp the evening news and has been working to find a new anchor. She is interested in Bret Baier, an anchor on the rightwing Fox News, Status reported.
Dickerson’s planned departure from the network comes after Shari Redstone, the previous owner of CBS’s parent company, Paramount, agreed to a settle a lawsuit with the Trump administration over a 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. While legal experts said the lawsuit had little merit, Redstone needed approval from federal regulators to sell the company to an entertainment company backed by the billionaire Larry Ellison.
Some observers and CBS employees saw the move as Redstone in effect bribing Trump and sacrificing journalistic integrity to serve her business interests.
Away from the news division, the network also abruptly announced the cancelation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert shortly before Paramount’s takeover by Skydance Media was finalized, prompting widespread criticism.
Regulators ultimately approved the deal, and the company’s new CEO, David Ellison, has also faced criticism for hiring a Trump ally as the network’s ombudsman and appointing Weiss, who does not have any broadcast journalism experience and has frequently attacked news organizations like the New York Times, as the editor-in-chief.
A longtime 60 Minutes executive producer left the network in April because he said he had lost his journalistic independence. The president and chief executive officer of CBS News resigned in May because she said it had “become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward”.
While Dickerson did not mention concerns about the future of the station in his departure announcement, he was among those who criticized the settlement.
“We pride ourselves on our BS detector, so it ought to work on ourselves, too,” Dickerson said on CBS Evening News Plus in July.
“When it doesn’t, the stakes are real, a loss of public trust, the spread of misinformation,” he continued. “The Paramount settlement poses a new obstacle. Can you hold power to account after paying it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you’ve traded away that trust?”
Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News, said that Dickerson “epitomizes the very best of journalism”.
One CBS News staffer, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said they were saddened, but not surprised, by Dickerson’s departure. “He’s an excellent journalist, good human being, and someone you want in a newsroom,” the staffer said.
His exit probably spells the end of the two-anchor format on CBS Evening News, which the network debuted in late January, but has not improved the show’s fortunes. It was unclear whether Dickerson’s co-anchor, Maurice DuBois, would remain with the program.
