There’s yet another person at the top of CBS News, a job that hasn’t been as long-lived as it may have been in the past.
Tom Cibrowski, a TV news veteran who has managed both “Good Morning America” and the San Francisco station KGO, has been named president and executive editor at CBS New, and will take the helm of the Paramount Global news operation at a challenging time. Variety reported on the plans Wednesday.
CBS News is under an array of pressures. It is at the center of of a case levied against Paramount Global by now-President Donald Trump, who claims editing of a “60 Minutes” interview of former Vice President Kamala Harris had an influence on the 2024 election. Executives at Paramount Global have mulled settling the case, because they fear the White House could slow down its deal to be acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance Media. The FCC recently asked for transcripts and video tied to the Harris interview. The network is also in the midst of overhauling “CBS Evening News.” Meanwhile, Paramount, which has already made massive cost cuts, is expected to make more once the Skydance deal is consummated.
In hiring Cibrowski, CBS will alter its executive structure. He will have greater oversight of CBS News programs and processes than his predecessor. In recent months, Wendy McMahon, who oversees news, stations and syndication for CBS, had taken a direct role in the production of CBS News mainstays like “CBS Evening News” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” Cibrowski will report to her.
“Everything he does is marked by a deep understanding of the news landscape, and he is committed to telling stories with impact, integrity, and fairness,” McMahon said in a Thursday memo. Cibrowski is expected to start his new duties on March 17.
Cibrowski has cut an interesting swath in a long career in TV news. Before taking the reins at KGO, he was senior vice president at ABC News, where he supervised global newsgathering, breaking news and content. Prior to that, he was the senior executive producer of “Good Morning America” when the show unseated a 16-year hold on audiences by NBC rival “Today.” He also has experience at CBS News, having worked as a producer at “The Early Show.”
His hire is seen by CBS as a way to free McMahon from a news division that was occupying an increasing amount of her time. Her previous executive structure, which had McMahon involved in production and Adrienne Roark, a longtime local-TV executive, overseeing newsgathering, proved unwieldly, and CBS News has blundered into several notable controversies in recent months. In one, “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil was reprimanded for a tough interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates, a move that generated a days-long news cycle.
Susan Zirinsky, a former CBS News president, will continue to examine standards at the news division on an interim basis, McMahon said.
