CBS Information editorial government Adrienne Roark, who made headlines for reprimanding morning anchor Tony Dokoupil over an interview he performed with an writer vital of Israel, is making ready to exit the community, in keeping with a report.
Roark’s departure comes as CBS, led by Wendy McMahon, grapples with authorized and political battles involving President Trump and its controlling stakeholder, Shari Redstone, who has reportedly signaled her willingness to settle a lawsuit with the president.
Roark, who sources say noticed the writing on the wall and determined to depart forward of an anticipated merger between Paramount World and Skydance Media, is anticipated to tackle a senior function at TEGNA, in keeping with Breaker and the Standing publication.
A CBS spokesperson confirmed the report when reached by The Publish.
Roark’s departure was introduced throughout the each day 9 a.m. editorial name at CBS headquarters, The Publish has discovered. There is no such thing as a phrase on the date of her final day on the community.
In October, McMahon and Roark reprimanded Dokoupil for his pointed questioning of writer Ta-Nehisi Coates relating to his pro-Palestinian positions on Hamas’ conflict with Israel, prompting inner backlash over the community’s journalistic integrity.
Throughout a employees assembly on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 assault, McMahon and Roark criticized Dokoupil for injecting private bias into the interview, in keeping with a number of experiences.
They argued the dialogue, which additionally featured co-anchors Gayle King and Nate Burleson, failed to satisfy CBS Information’ impartiality requirements, although they didn’t elaborate on particular issues.
A supply near the state of affairs instructed The Publish that Roark’s exit could be attributed to the truth that “there’s no job security with the Skydance merger.”
“It’s difficult. Everyone is trying to get out,” the supply instructed The Publish.
Roark is “not going to be missed” since there are already a big variety of senior executives on the Tiffany Community, which the supply described as “top-heavy.”
“Nobody in the news division knew what she did,” the supply mentioned.
The supply mentioned considered one of Roark’s key errors was taking Dokoupil to job for his interview of Coates.
Roark’s exit comes greater than every week after The Publish reported that Trump is pushing for a considerable monetary settlement from CBS over his $10 billion lawsuit alleging election interference.
Trump just lately amended the lawsuit and is now searching for $20 billion.
Sources aware of the state of affairs point out that Trump’s authorized staff is positioning to demand a nine-figure sum, far exceeding the $16 million just lately paid by ABC and the $25 million settlement from Meta.
The negotiations stay within the early levels. Discussions over a potential settlement started earlier this month.
Trump filed go well with in opposition to CBS and its mum or dad firm, Paramount World, after “60 Minutes” aired an October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump claims the interview was deceptively edited to favor the Democratic ticket.
Whereas no formal settlement provide has been offered to Paramount World, sources near Trump’s authorized staff recommend he might demand an quantity within the vary of $100 million or extra.
A authorized insider indicated that a gap demand of $100 million to $150 million wouldn’t be sudden, citing Trump’s earlier aggressive authorized techniques.
The previous president’s staff had pursued an analogous technique in opposition to ABC, securing a deal below which $15 million was earmarked for Trump’s presidential library and an extra $1 million allotted for authorized charges.
The high-stakes negotiations carry vital implications for Paramount World, which is working to finalize its merger with Skydance Media, owned by Larry and David Ellison.
The $8 billion transaction, valued at $2 billion lower than Trump’s lawsuit in opposition to CBS, is poised to shut inside the first quarter of the yr.
Nevertheless, the deal is drawing regulatory scrutiny, significantly from the Federal Communications Fee (FCC), which has scheduled a public listening to subsequent month to look at allegations of stories distortion at CBS Information.
Trump-appointed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr just lately launched the complete transcript and video footage of Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview, revealing that this system had considerably shortened considered one of her responses relating to Israel, decreasing it to simply 20 phrases.
The transfer has additional infected tensions, with hypothesis that the FCC might delay its choice on the merger whereas awaiting a decision between the events.
Trump reacted strongly to the discharge of the transcript, taking to Fact Social to denounce CBS, calling the community’s actions an instance of election interference and fraud.
He went as far as to recommend that CBS ought to lose its broadcasting license over the matter.
His authorized staff strengthened this stance, with lawyer Ed Paltzik asserting that CBS and its mum or dad firm, Paramount, had misled the general public.
He additional said that any settlement ought to each compensate Trump for perceived damages and function a warning to media organizations in opposition to manipulating data for political functions.
Because the authorized battle unfolds, CBS stays silent on the matter. In the meantime, Paramount faces mounting strain to navigate each its merger ambitions and the rising controversy surrounding its flagship information division.
