CBS is bringing journalist Norah O’Donnell back to its morning programme as a co-anchor, returning her to a role she held between 2012 and 2019 as the network looks to strengthen the show amid declining ratings.
O’Donnell will rejoin Gayle King and former NFL player Nate Burleson on CBS Mornings from September 8.
Her return follows a series of changes in her career at CBS. O’Donnell left the morning programme to become anchor of the CBS Evening News, a position she held until stepping down after the 2024 presidential election.
The evening anchor role was later given to morning co-host Tony Dokoupil, creating an opening on CBS Mornings that O’Donnell will now fill.
O’Donnell was also recently promoted from contributor to a full-time correspondent ahead of the upcoming 59th season of 60 Minutes.
Jon Tower, the show’s producer, announced O’Donnell’s return in an internal memo to CBS staff, describing the move as a homecoming.
“This is a homecoming for Norah,” Tower wrote, according to Variety. “As we all know, for seven years, Norah helped lead CBS This Morning alongside Gayle, creating one of the most memorable partnerships in the history of morning news. They have a friendship and chemistry that extends beyond the studio. They know each other, respect each other, and – maybe most importantly – genuinely enjoy each other. To put it simply, I can’t think of a team I’d rather watch navigate the news than Gayle, Nate and Norah.”
During a staff call on Thursday, O’Donnell thanked CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, network president Tom Cibrowski, Tower and King.
Reflecting on how much her life had changed since she first anchored the programme, O’Donnell said she had gone from taking her children to Montessori school to recently sending them off to university.
“When I first anchored the show, I had three kids in Montessori school, and this past week, I dropped off three kids at college. So I’m currently in New Hampshire with my youngest, dropping her off. So it’s been such an incredible journey,” O’Donnell said.
“I’m thrilled to work with all of you very closely again, and I’ll see all of you in New York next week.”
King, one of CBS’s leading personalities, was consulted during the search for a third co-anchor, according to a person familiar with the process.
O’Donnell’s return comes as CBS Mornings faces a difficult ratings environment, trailing its main competitors, NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America.
The programme averaged 1.62 million viewers in July, compared with 2.77 million for NBC and 2.79 million for ABC.
Its audience fell even further between July 27 and 31, when CBS Mornings recorded an average of 1.57 million viewers, its lowest figure in the programme’s history.
Despite the challenges, Tower expressed confidence that O’Donnell’s return could help reshape the show.
“We have an extraordinary team behind the cameras, an extraordinary team in front of them, and an opportunity to build the smartest morning show on TV,” he wrote. “Please join me in welcoming Norah home.”
The revamped programme is expected to place greater emphasis on live conversations surrounding breaking news and major topics, moving away from some of its previous feature-driven segments.
CBS has spent recent months experimenting with guest co-hosts as it searched for a permanent third anchor. Among those tested was former Fox & Friends co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who appeared on the programme in June.
