‘The image of a solo woman anchor could be game changing’: CBS anchor disappointed in the network’s all-male decision

The network recently announced that Norah O’Donnell will be replaced by two male anchors

Longtime CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric has spoken out about the network’s decision to replace Norah O’Donnell with two male anchors, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.

Couric, 67, described the move as “more than a little disappointing.”

Dickerson and DuBois will start work following the election in November.

In an op-ed for The New York Times published Saturday (August 11), Couric wrote: “Don’t get me wrong: I know, like and respect these two journalists. But soon, on the big three networks, there will be four male anchors. Yes, the talented Margaret Brennan will be contributing stories from the Washington bureau for CBS, but the two people who will be greeting Americans watching the CBS evening newscast will be men.”

Along with the incoming Dickerson and DuBois at CBS, the other major evening newscasts are hosted by Lester Holt at NBC and David Muir at ABC.

Couric continued: “Nearly 20 years ago, I wanted to be the face of CBS Evening News because I knew that for the audience – especially little girls and little boys watching at dinner time – the image of a solo woman anchor could be game changing.

Katie Couric in East Hampton in 2022 (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for East Hampton Library)

“Whether it’s in politics, sports or other once-male-dominated fields, seeing diversity in leadership inspires our imagination about who can and should fill these roles.

“The incoming anchors and executives will be curating the evening news for an aging audience – when you watch the commercials, it’s pretty evident which demographic is tuning in – but the broadcast still attracts over four million viewers on average every night.

“It’s odd and more than a little out of touch that even while CBS has announced a restructuring that introduces an additional layer of women executives, the leading editorial decision makers will mostly be men.”

O’Donnell has anchored CBS Evening News since 2019, and will continue to work at the network as a senior correspondent with a focus on attention-grabbing interviews.

She was the second woman to act as the sole anchor of CBS Evening News after Couric hosted the broadcast from 2006 to 2011. From 1993 to 1995, Connie Chung co-anchored with Dan Rather.

Couric went on to acknowledge that nightly newscasts aren’t as central to the media industry as they once were, but added: “Even an industry that may one day be fully seen as a relic of a bygone era needs to be mindful of societal changes that have swept the country.”

Last year Couric spoke out about surviving breast cancer one year after revealing her diagnosis.