Norah O’Donnell bid farewell to her anchor chair at “CBS Evening News” on Thursday night, calling the gig an “honor of a lifetime” — as the network prepares for an overhauled broadcast.
“It has been an incredible five and a half years,” O’Donnell said.
Oprah Winfrey surprised O’Donnell, 51, with a montage that featured interviews with Pope Francis and former Vice President Kamala Harris and on-location coverage across roughly 1,300 broadcasts.
Norah O’Donnell officially signed off as the “CBS Evening News” anchor on Thursday. CBS News
“You have so much to be proud of,” Winfrey said. “Your work as the anchor and managing editor of the ‘CBS Evening News’ has not only won awards, but more importantly, has made such a difference and informed our nation.”
O’Donnell, who has served as the broadcast’s anchor since 2019, emphasized the importance of journalism as she delivered her final on-air sign-off.
“This has been the honor of a lifetime to anchor this legacy broadcast,” O’Donnell said.
“The ‘CBS Evening News’ — for good reason — is the longest-running evening newscast in America. And it is powered by the finest journalists in the world.”
“The correspondents, producers, researchers and crews who work tirelessly to bring you the news every night. That won’t change because journalism matters. I know that because I’ve heard that from so many of you – our viewers. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting us and welcoming hard news with heart into your homes.”
O’Donnell first co-anchored “CBS This Morning” in 2012 before shifting to lead the “CBS Evening News” in 2019. Anne Wermiel
She was flanked by “Evening News” staffers who showered O’Donnell with applause when the broadcast went off the air.
“I will miss you too,” O’Donnell told viewers. “So for the final time, that’s tonight’s ‘CBS Evening News.’ I owe it all to everyone I work with. Seriously. Love you. Goodnight.”
In July, O’Donnell announced that she would vacate her role as anchor and managing editor after the 2024 presidential election to focus on an expanded role at the network amid struggling viewership.
The decision came months before parent Paramount Global conducted sweeping layoffs of 2,000 staffers to cut $500 million from the budget ahead of its planned merger with Skydance Media.
Donnell interviewed a series of powerful people including Pope Francis ahead of the Vatican’s first World Children’s Day. CBS via Getty Images
O’Donnell interviewed the Dalai Lama in 2013. CBS via Getty Images
She will work on long-form reporting and interviews for CBS’s primetime specials, “Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes” broadcasts, CBS announced.
O’Donnell’s $8M salary was slashed by more than half to $3.8M when she re-signed a deal with the network in 2022, The Post exclusively reported.
Oprah Winfrey surprised O’Donnell with a special message during the broadcaster’s last show. CBS News
The “Evening News” averaged just 4.6 million total viewers in the most recent quarter and less than 670,000 in the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic — trailing “ABC World News Tonight” and “NBC Nightly News.”
CBS reporter John Dickerson and longtime CBS New York anchor Maurice Dubois were appointed as O’Donnell’s successors.
The pair will serve as co-anchors and broadcast their first episode on January 27 from NYC, moving the studio from Washington, DC back to the Big Apple.
“I want to say thank you to the viewers,” DuBois said Thursday. “This is my hometown. And without the viewers, there is no us so thank you for everything over the years we’ll keep going at a different time.”
