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MAGA-Curious CBS Boss Sharpens Knife for Morning Show Legend

The anchor in question reportedly makes around $15 million per year.

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss may start weighing up how to use longtime CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King once her contract is up in May.

Weiss, Variety reported Tuesday, might hone in on King in part because her salary is around $15 million per year, one person familiar with the network told the outlet. King, 71, has co-hosted the morning show since 2012.

King is mulling a special correspondent role or taking a pay cut to remain on the show for another year, according to Variety.

CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, nor did a lawyer for King.

In October, King pushed back on a report that she would be leaving CBS Mornings.

“I don’t know what to tell you about it, but what I’m hearing in the building is not what I’m reading in the press,” King told TMZ, adding that she had “no idea” what the future holds beyond May.

A CBS spokesperson told the Daily Beast around that time that “no discussions” had been held with King about her contract.

“She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future,” the spokesperson added.

Weiss, 41, has made several shakeups at CBS upon being installed as newsroom leader by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to make the network appeal to conservatives.

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In October, when questions about King’s future were being raised, Weiss shuttered CBS Saturday Morning, CBS Evening News Plus and CBS Mornings Plus. Around that time, CBS Evening News’ John Dickerson chose to leave the company.

Two months later, Weiss named Tony Dokoupil, 45, to anchor the CBS Evening News—a move that has not been without hiccups.

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Before Dokoupil even started, he was criticized for pledging to be “more accountable and more transparent” than Walter Cronkite. And on his first day, he admitted to having “big problems” in the form of dead air and confusion over story selection. CBS staffers were reportedly “overwhelmingly depressed” by the show’s first few broadcasts, which included Dokoupil offering a flattering depiction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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