Executives at CBS News are weighing a move that would dramatically scale back longtime morning host Gayle King’s role, and slash her pay, as the network pushes ahead with a broader shakeup aimed at reining in costs and rebalancing editorial priorities.
According to sources cited by the New York Post, network leadership is considering shifting King out of her co-host position on CBS Mornings and into a reduced role.
The new role could potentially be a special correspondent or occasional contributor focused on celebrity interviews and feature segments.
The change would reportedly come with a significant pay cut, reducing King’s estimated $13 million annual salary by roughly half.
Cost-Cutting and Editorial Reset
The possible demotion comes as Bari Weiss, CBS News’s editor in chief, continues a sweeping overhaul of the division alongside the network’s President Tom Cibrowski.
Sources say the discussions are part of a broader effort to curb what executives increasingly view as unsustainable star salaries in a rapidly changing media environment.
The push aligns with industry-wide trends, with Variety previously reporting that major networks are moving away from outsized talent contracts as ratings decline and audiences fragment.
King recently met Weiss for what Page Six described as a “low-key” lunch to discuss her future at the network.
While Weiss reportedly values King’s ability to land high-profile interviews, sources say leadership wants to keep her in a narrower, lower-paid role.
King’s contract is renewed annually and is set to expire in May.
Internal Backlash and High-Profile Decisions
Weiss took over as editor in chief with a mandate from CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Skydance, to bring greater balance to the newsroom.
It’s a directive that has already triggered internal resistance.
In recent weeks, Weiss drew controversy after shelving a 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison, citing concerns that the report was not “comprehensive and fair” and lacked a response from the Trump administration.
The decision sparked internal outrage before the segment ultimately aired with additional material included.
Earlier, Weiss installed Tony Dokoupil as anchor of CBS Evening News, another high-profile personnel move signaling a broader reset at the network.
A Symbol of a Changing Media Landscape
The potential sidelining of Gayle King, long one of CBS’s most recognizable and highly compensated figures, underscores how dramatically the media landscape has shifted.
As legacy networks struggle with declining viewership, bloated budgets, and credibility concerns, even marquee names are no longer untouchable.
If the move goes forward, it would mark one of the clearest signs yet that CBS News’s new leadership is willing to challenge entrenched power structures in pursuit of a leaner operation and a newsroom less defined by celebrity contracts and more by editorial discipline.
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