Norah O'Donnell Has Left CBS Evening News, but Is She Leaving the Network?
O'Donnell is leaving the Evening News, but she's not leaving CBS.
Published Jan. 23 2025, 11:56 a.m. ET
The evening news is a constant in many people's lives, and that consistency is in part due to the regular appearance of specific anchors delivering that news. That's why so many people are wondering why Norah O'Donnell is leaving CBS Evening News, and where she's planning to go now that she's done anchoring the show.
Norah was initially supposed to be done with the show on Friday, Jan. 24, but her last appearance had to be bumped up a day because CBS is scheduled to air the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 24. Here's what we know about what Norah's plans are after she leaves this job.
Where is Norah O'Donnell going when she leaves CBS?
Norah may be done with CBS Evening News, but she's not actually done with the network as a whole. In a statement published by CBS, Norah explained that she had made the decision to leave the Evening News behind in the wake of the election.
"After this year’s election, I’ve decided I will be leaving my role as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News to take on a new position at the network," Norah explained.
"We just celebrated an amazing five years together. I love what I do, and I am so fortunate to work with the best journalists and people in the business," she continued. "But I have spent 12 years in the anchor chair here at CBS News, connected to a daily broadcast and the rigors of a relentless news cycle. It’s time to do something different. I will continue to contribute to Evening News and all of our news broadcasts, including 60 Minutes."
It seems like regular CBS News viewers will still have plenty of opportunities to see Norah, but she just won't be in the anchor's chair every night. As her statement suggested, the rigors of hosting a news show that airs every night can be exhausting, and it seems she's ready to step back from that particular spotlight in favor of a position inside the network that allows for a slightly more flexible schedule.
Who is replacing Norah O'Donnell?
Norah will be replaced by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, who will co-anchor the program together. John has previously hosted Face the Nation and CBS This Morning for the network, and Maurice co-anchors CBS News New York. Following the news that they would be replacing Norah, Katie Couric, herself a former host of CBS Evening News, said that she was disappointed that the network had gone with two men to replace her.
“It was more than a little disappointing to read that Ms. O’Donnell would be replaced by two men, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois,” she wrote. “Don’t get me wrong: I know, like, and respect these two journalists. But soon, on the big three networks, there will be four male anchors. Yes, the talented Margaret Brennan will be contributing stories from the Washington bureau for CBS, but the two people who will be greeting Americans watching the CBS evening newscast will be men.”