“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” Wendy McMahon wrote to the staff, weeks after the top producer at “60 Minutes” resigned.
CBS News’ president and CEO said Monday that she is stepping down, marking the second high-profile departure from the organization within the past month as it contends with a $20 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump and an $8 billion merger.
Wendy McMahon, who took over the stalwart news brand in 2023, said in a memo that her time atop the company has been “a privilege and joy,” but that the past few months had been “challenging.”
“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon wrote in a memo to CBS News staff. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”
George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS, in a separate memo did not address McMahon’s comments on a path forward.
“On a personal note, I want to thank Wendy for her partnership over the past four years,” Cheeks wrote. “Under her leadership, the competitive position and culture at our television stations have improved dramatically, and we’ve expanded local news significantly. Our streaming news platforms — national and local — are stronger and growing, with digital extensions now in place for several of our flagship CBS News broadcasts.”
McMahon’s departure comes just weeks after Bill Owens, the longtime top producer at “60 Minutes,” left after he said the newsmagazine had lost its journalistic independence.
The tumult at CBS News comes as its parent company, Paramount Global, seeks to complete an $8 billion merger with media production group Skydance Media.
That merger requires federal approval — a situation that has led to ongoing internal tensions at CBS News. As it works to complete the merger, Paramount is seeking to settle a $20 billion lawsuit lodged by Trump over accusations that “60 Minutes” selectively edited an interview segment featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Experts have called the suit baseless — but Owens signaled that internal pressures from Paramount executives have become unsustainable.
“Having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” Owens wrote in an outgoing memo widely reported by media outlets.
