Gayle King’s Potential Role Change at CBS News

CBS News is reportedly considering a shift for morning anchor Gayle King to a correspondent position, though this would come with a significant pay cut—potentially down to half of her current annual salary of around $13 million, according to sources close to the situation.

This development comes amid some tumult at CBS, particularly with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss facing scrutiny over recent changes in personnel and editorial choices.

There have been discussions between Weiss and CBS News President Tom Sybrowski about moving King from her role as co-host of “CBS Morning.” They are looking at possibilities where she could report more intermittently, perhaps as a special correspondent, leveraging her skills in securing high-profile interviews.

King and Weiss had a casual lunch recently to discuss future opportunities for her at the network. Reports indicate that a move like this is under consideration, albeit for a much lower salary.

Weiss values King’s ability to draw in prominent interview subjects and wishes to keep her as part of the team, though it would require her working in a different (and significantly less lucrative) capacity.

Staffing changes reflect the broader trend in media—high salaries for star talent have become hard to sustain in a challenging landscape.

Currently, King’s contract, which gets renewed annually, is set to expire in May.

CBS News has not commented on these developments as of yet.

In her new role, Weiss aims to bring a fresh balance to CBS News. Recently, she made headlines for pulling a “60 Minutes” report that had generated pushback due to perceived lack of fairness regarding El Salvador’s CECOT prison, ensuring the piece aired later with added material to address these concerns.

Additionally, Weiss appointed Tony Dokoupil as the anchor for CBS Evening News, marking yet another significant change in the network’s talent lineup.