CBS News issued a scathing rebuke of a new report that Norah O’Donnell accepted a substantial salary cut as part of her new contract.
The New York Post reported that after a tense contract negotiation that spilled into public view, the CBS Evening News anchor accepted a reduced salary in April that saw her annual intake slashed by more than half.
The Post reported:
According to insiders, CBS News re-signed the 48-year-old anchor in April with a yearly salary of $3.8 million — down from the previous $8 million — following reports that the network had been casting around for a replacement as O’Donnell’s ratings continue to sag.
CBS execs gave O’Donnell a “low ball” offer during the hard-knuckle negotiations, which they “expected O’Donnell to reject,” according to a source briefed on the talks. When she accepted it, some executives appeared surprised, the source added.
The Post cited a previous report that CBS News president Neeraj Khemlani wanted to replace O’Donnell with Brian Williams.
CBS News accused the Post of reporting “false news” in a statement provided to Mediaite:
Wrong again. Neeraj led the effort to retain and re-sign about a dozen of our biggest anchors and correspondents over the last year including Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King – and recruited a few new ones like Nate Burleson and Robert Costa.
While there are huge prime time openings elsewhere in the News industry, CBS News has the No. 1 news broadcasts and finished the season with multiple shows including morning and evenings in their most competitive position ever. Apparently, the more false stories the NY Post writes, the better things go for CBS News
(Excerpt) Read more in: Mediaite