The anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is sparking contemporary conspiracy theories — about Norah O’Donnell’s anchor spot at “CBS Night Information,” that’s.
Final week, the third-place community flew “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil into Washington from New York to anchor a 9 a.m. particular report on final January’s upheaval on the Capitol.
That set tongues wagging inside CBS, the place some staffers mentioned it seemed like a potential tryout for O’Donnell’s job as CBS Information co-president Neeraj Khemlani searches for ways to cut costs at the network.
As reported by The Submit, the 47-year-old O’Donnell, who’s rumored to drag a wage within the ballpark of $8 million, has currently confronted speculation that her plum job may be in jeopardy as she renegotiates her contract to anchor the third-place information broadcast.
Certainly, one insider instructed On The Cash that Khemlani has spoken concerning the coveted anchor chair to 40-year-old Dokoupil, who earns round $2 million for co-hosting “CBS Mornings” alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson — and instructed him that he first must turn out to be “extra seasoned.”
“That is an instance of Neeraj attempting to prop Dokoupil up and develop him into the function,” the supply mentioned.
A rep for CBS Information declined to touch upon the chatter however pointed to O’Donnell’s scores, which have improved though they nonetheless lag second-place NBC’s “Nightly Information with Lester Holt” and first-place ABC “World Information Tonight with David Muir.”
“‘Night Information’ is experiencing the tightest demo hole with NBC in 27 years,” the rep mentioned.
However one CBS insider famous that the community will pay Dokoupil a lot much less to be in third place. The individual added that Dokoupil’s presence in DC appeared odd when O’Donnell, the community’s managing editor, is already there — to not point out a slew of different DC-based reporters who might have anchored the present.
“Why would they ship Dokoupil?” the insider mentioned. “Wasn’t this the entire motive to maneuver Norah to DC?”
In 2019, Khemlani’s predecessor Susan Zirinsky spent millions of dollars on a transfer of the “Evening News” to DC from New York.
Internet hosting final week’s particular report outdoors the US Capitol, Dokoupil seemed fidgety, sporting an outsized parka and clasping his ungloved palms periodically as he lobbed questions at CBS Information White Home correspondent Nancy Cordes and Justice and Homeland Safety correspondent Jeff Pegues.
O’Donnell, who hosted the “Night Information” from the identical spot later that evening, appeared extra in her component, confidently main the reside 6:30 p.m. broadcast.
However there’s nonetheless time, and insiders say that they count on to see Dokoupil tackle extra particular studies within the coming months.
O’Donnell can also need to be careful for Main Garrett, who stuffed in for her through the week of Christmas. In accordance with Nielsen, Garrett, who joined CBS Information from Fox Information in 2012, averaged 5.1 million whole viewers and 891,000 viewers aged 25 to 54 for the week of Dec. 27.
That’s flat in whole viewers and a 4.6% improve in adults aged 25 to 54 from what the newscast averaged when O’Donnell anchored two weeks earlier.
Following the vacation stoop, O’Donnell’s scores jumped within the week of Jan. 3, to five.7 million whole viewers and 1 million viewers aged 25 to 54.
