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CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell is urging liberal critics of her boss Bari Weiss to tune into “CBS Mornings” after the network announced her return to its marquee morning program.
O’Donnell, who previously cohosted what was then called “CBS This Morning” from 2012-2019, is set to return to mornings alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson, filling the empty chair left vacant by Tony Dokoupil, who now anchors “CBS Evening News.” She will make her official debut after Labor Day.
“This is a homecoming for Norah,” the show’s producer Jon Tower told staff Thursday in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. “As we all know, for seven years, Norah helped lead CBS This Morning alongside Gayle, creating one of the most memorable partnerships in the history of morning news. They have a friendship and chemistry that extends beyond the studio. They know each other, respect each other, and — maybe most importantly — genuinely enjoy each other. To put it simply, I can’t think of a team I’d rather watch navigate the news than Gayle, Nate and Norah.”
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CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell is returning to “CBS Mornings,” the network announced this week. (Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)
However, some of CBS’ liberal audience have soured on the network over the past year following the appointment of Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief by new Paramount CEO David Ellison.
As highlighted by Zeteo media columnist Justin Baragona, O’Donnell confronted Weiss’ critics head-on in the comments section of an Instagram post from “CBS Mornings” announcing her return.
“I feel Norah is too good to stay with CBS. I wish some other news force had scooped her up. As long as Bari Weiss and the Ellisons are in charge bye bye,” Instagram user Courtney Stevens wrote, to which O’Donnell replied, “This is so silly. Just watch our show!”
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“NO!! Go to another network. I will never watch a minute of CBS programming after the Colbert/60 minutes fiasco. You deserve better than CBS!” another Instagram user wrote. O’Donnell responded, “Thanks for commenting. Give us a try.”
A third Instagram user reacted, “This is tough but I can’t watch CBS anymore with Bari Weiss running things. Love Nora[h] tho.”
“This makes no sense. Watch our show,” O’Donnell replied.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has been making her mark at the network over the past year. (Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for CBS News declined to comment.
In addition to her return to “CBS Mornings,” O’Donnell was also tapped as a new “60 Minutes” correspondent as part of a major shakeup at the long-running magazine show. Several other correspondents and contributors were announced, including Ross Douthat — who exited The New York Times for the role — following the firings of “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley as well as Anderson Cooper’s exit earlier this year.
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O’Donnell previously served as “CBS Evening News” anchor from 2019-2025. John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois co-anchored the program for a year after she stepped down — and both Dickerson and DuBois left the network after Weiss appointed Dokoupil to take over the anchor chair in January.
Weiss has drawn the ire of far-left critics who accuse her of being MAGA-friendly despite her outspoken old-school liberal politics. Both she and Ellison have expressed their mission of appealing to the 70% in the middle versus the political fringes.
Paramount owner David Ellison tapped Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News and acquired her outlet, The Free Press, for $150 million. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images; James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Free Press)
Ellison’s Paramount is on the cusp of buying Warner Bros. Discovery for a whopping $111 billion, which would have him oversee both CBS News and CNN under one corporate umbrella. CNN staffers worry what Ellison will do to the network, as it was previously reported that Weiss may be tasked with having an oversight role of both newsrooms, though Ellison has vowed CNN will maintain its editorial independence.
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The merger has been delayed due to an antitrust lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. A trial is set for March 2027, though it is unclear whether a settlement will occur beforehand and whether Ellison would be forced to spin off CNN as a result.
