Wendy McMahon pushed from her CBS News post amid ‘60 Minutes’ crisis

Wendy McMahon is stepping down as president of CBS News and Stations, indicating deep disagreement within the company over its handling of President Trump’s lawsuit against “60 Minutes.”

“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon said in a note sent to CBS News staff Monday. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”

McMahon has been firm in her position that CBS News parent Paramount Global should not settle the $20-billion suit from Trump, which claims an October interview with his 2024 opponent Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to help her presidential campaign.

Hollywood Inc.

‘60 Minutes’ shows it’s not scared off by Trump’s lawsuit and threats

The newsmagazine continues to do tough coverage of the White House while Paramount Global considers a settlement to clear a path for its sale to Skydance.

May 5, 2025

The lawsuit is an obstacle to Paramount Global’s proposed $8-billion sale to Skydance Media. The case has gone to a mediator.

McMahon’s departure is a sign that a settlement may be close. She steadfastly backed up Bill Owens, the longtime executive producer of “60 Minutes” who resigned last month citing increased corporate interference in the program.

People inside “60 Minutes” as well as 1st Amendment experts believe Trump’s demands are a shakedown with no basis in law. But the president has remained defiant, saying CBS should be punished.

McMahon was not expected to stay with CBS News after the completion of the Paramount-Skydance merger. People familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly said Paramount Global asked for her resignation.

Two sources familiar with the matter attributed her departure to a range of issues, most specifically CBS News’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing dispute with Trump.

“60 Minutes” has remained aggressive in covering the Trump administration despite the lawsuit and threats by the president to pull the licenses of the network’s TV stations.

A recent example was a hard-hitting story about Trump’s attack on top law firms that showcased Marc Elias, an attorney who successfully fought a Trump challenge over the 2020 election results. During the May 4 broadcast, Elias described the White House’s actions as akin to “the way in which a mob boss intimidates people.”

But Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Skydance need Federal Communications Commission approval to proceed with their merger. They are said to be eager to get past Trump’s complaint.

With McMahon’s exit, CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and CBS Stations President Jennifer Mitchell will each report directly to CBS Chief Executive George Cheeks. Cibrowski is a veteran ABC News executive who joined the company in February.

McMahon joined CBS in 2021. She oversaw the company’s syndication division and TV stations as well as CBS News. She became the sole executive in charge of the news division after her co-head Neeraj Khemlani stepped down in 2023.

Cheeks brought McMahon to the company from Walt Disney Co., where she led the ABC station group. At the time, Cheeks was trying to clean up its stations division, which was plagued by management issues and the firing of its former head, Peter Dunn.

Since then, McMahon rose to be one of Cheeks’ most trusted lieutenants, taking over CBS News.

McMahon also oversaw the revamp of the “CBS Evening News,” which has resulted in a significant ratings decline since January. The program added John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois as co-anchors replacing Norah O’Donnell in a format that favored longer reporting segments.

Redstone contradicted McMahon publicly after “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil was admonished on an editorial call over his exchange with author Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Sept. 30 edition of the program.

Dokoupil questioned the approach the author took in his book, “The Message,” which compares Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank to the Jim Crow era of segregation in the U.S. His aggressive tone was attacked by a faction of CBS News employees who believed Dokoupil’s reporting was too sympathetic to the Israeli cause.

But Redstone, whose philanthropy efforts have focused on anti-Semitism, publicly broke with McMahon’s team and defended Dokoupil.

McMahon is the fourth top executive to pass through CBS News in the last six years.

After McMahon made her announcement, CBS News employees were circulating a chart that broke down the tenure of the recent division heads: McMahon served 634 days. Her predecessor Khemlani served 836 days. Susan Zirinsky, now head of a Paramount Global documentary unit, put in 775 days in the post while her predecessor David Rhodes lasted 1,466 days.