It’s been a crazy time over at Paramount since the merger with Skydance, but no division of the massive entertainment company appears to be affected more, at least for now, than CBS News. New Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has made some significant changes to the way the organization works already, and some even bigger changes have been rumored, including the potential removal of longtime host Gayle King from the air.
What Gayle King Says About Rumors She May Leave CBS Mornings
Last month, rumors began to circulate that Gayle King might leave the anchor desk of CBS Mornings, where she’s been for over a decade. While expectations were that she would still remain at CBS, it would still be a massive shift. In a recent appearance on Sherri, host Sherri Shepard asked King about the rumors, and she responded saying:
I saw those rumors. What I say is this, I’m not going to negotiate in the press. I hear one thing in the building and one thing outside the building. I’ll be reading an article, and I’m like, ‘That’s not true, that’s not true…’ So I’ve decided I’m going to stay out of the drama, and there is some drama. I’m going to stay out of that and just continue to do my job and stay out of it.
King says specifically that “I’m told they like me,” which indicates she has heard that the new bosses at CBS aren’t looking to move her away, which discounts what the rumors have said. She also kept her sense of humor about the whole thing, joking that when her kids ask her what’s going on, she has to ask, “What have you heard?”
However, it’s clear from her comments that she hasn’t had any direct contact with those bosses, and thus she’s in a position, one a lot of people are in, where she’s just going to work and do her job and plans to do that unless somebody tells her to stop.
Changes At CBS Mornings Are Underway
While it appears Gayle King isn’t expected to leave CBS Mornings, somebody else is. Tony Dokoupil, one of King’s co-hosts,w ill be leaving the show in early January because he’s set to take over as the anchor of The CBS Evening News. Co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois had been anchoring the broadcast for less than a year, but have both announced their departures from the show.
While this could potentially be seen as another of the numerous shakeups that CBS News has seen, King referred to Dokoupil’s new job as a promotion, and expressed nothing but happiness for the change, saying:
Very happy for Tony. Very happy
While King’s comments may not be enough to stop the rumors, and the future is certainly unclear, the news anchor doesn’t seem too bothered by the whole thing. She’ll deal with whatever happens, and fans will no doubt be there to watch her do it.