CBS News has signed a new deal with Gayle King after intense speculation about the future of the CBS Mornings co-host’s role at the network.
King has been the centerpiece of the network’s morning show for years now, and her departure would have been a huge blow to the Bari Weiss-led network news division, which also recently lost another marquee talent with the departure of 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper.
But the question of King’s employment is settled – at least for now, as she will remain at the network with a new contract, according to a person familiar with the situation. In a statement, King suggested that she will remain as co-host of CBS Mornings – though she indicated that she would be open to other roles as well. Some in the industry expected King to leave the morning show, which also recently lost co-host Tony Dokoupil to the network’s evening show, for a broader, more interview-driven position.
“Rumors of my demise were inaccurate and greatly exaggerated,” King said in a statement, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. “CBS News is my longtime home, and I am committed to our mission. I’m excited about continuing at ‘CBS Mornings.’ As always, I’m open to new adventures here and ready to go. It took a minute, but we got there. And now that we are here, I am all in.”
Weiss, who had a tabloid-covered lunch with King in early January amid rumors about her status, issued her own statement praising the longtime CBS News personality.
“There is only one Gayle King,” Weiss said in a statement. “We’re so proud that she’ll continue to call CBS home. We’re thrilled to have her on in the morning – and equally excited to work with her on new, enterprising projects that bring her talents to new audiences.”
With Dokoupil’s recent departure from the show, CBS Mornings – which has long been stuck in third place behind morning shows from NBC and ABC – is down to just two hosts: King and former football star Nate Burleson.
Tom Cibrowski, the president of CBS News, suggested that the show may change in the near future, as has long been expected since Weiss took over as editor-in-chief in October. “We are excited to continue to evolve CBS Mornings and can’t wait for what’s to come,” he said.
In late October, Variety reported that King would leave the morning show – but would likely move to another part of the network.
King acknowledged the speculation about her future in a town hall meeting held by Weiss in late January. “People come and pet me like a puppy and say, ‘I’m so sorry that you’re leaving CBS. I won’t watch you guys again. And it’s not the same place.’” she told colleagues at the time. “And when I come here, what I see every day are people who really love what they do.”
Notably, King also had kind words for Weiss, praising her for taking questions from staff. “For many people, they’ve never even heard your freaking voice,” she said at the time, according to an audio recording of the meeting. “So it’s good for them to see you’re a real person and this is what you want and how you feel about us and how you feel about this job.”
A television industry insider speculated to the Guardian earlier this year that King, who reportedly pulls in $15m per year, would be wise to leave the network, particularly amid criticism of its leadership.
“She doesn’t need to do this at this point in her life – she’s a bona fide star,” the person said. “She doesn’t need this sideshow.”
