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Is Gayle King poised to leave CBS Mornings?
After over a dozen years at the helm, this American icon might depart. Will it be by choice?
This past spring, Donald Trump pushed for Gayle’s firing as part of his broader attack on journalism.
Is it happening now as CBS News has a new, wildly unqualified editor-in-chief?
Gayle King is reportedly leaving ‘CBS Mornings’ next year
Variety reports that Gayle King is leaving CBS Mornings, where she has been the anchor since 2012.
Gayle is a television legend.
She has managed to juggle her celebrity status with journalistic integrity.
Just a few years ago, her viral interview with disgraced rapper R. Kelly helped open many people’s eyes to the (now incarcerated) fiend’s true nature.
Earlier this year, she took her brief Blue Origin flight seriously without claiming to be some sort of astronaut out on the frontier, thus avoiding Katy Perry-style backlash.
To be clear, the report suggests that Gayle leaving CBS Mornings might not mean leaving CBS altogether.
There are multiple avenues that she might take within the “CBS family.”
(Just a reminder, this is all under ParamountGlobal — everything from Star Trek to MTV to Yellowstone to Nickelodeon is part of this massive corporate behemoth)
Perhaps the most exciting prospect is the suggestion that Gayle might develop her very own show.
That said, it sounds like many things are up in the air. Why the reported change, though?
Why this change? It may fit a larger, ominous pattern
For many years, Gayle King has commanded respect for, among other things, representing journalistic integrity.
This certainly feels like a reason for her reported exit from CBS Mornings.
As most people are likely already aware, Paramount was recently part of an extremely controversial corporate acquisition.
(And they paid a pretty penny to Donald Trump over a frivolous lawsuit, which critics have characterized as an illegal bribe, before the merger)
One of the most ominous consequences of this merger is that Bari Weiss, a wildly unqualified contrarian who claims to be “politically homeless” yet has made a career out of espousing views that comfort the old and rich, is now the editor-in-chief of CBS News.
If you want to understand more about the existential threat that she represents to journalism, there’s a recent and reasonably thorough Last Week Tonight Bari Weiss rundown embedded above.
Weiss’ takeover of CBS News has heralded what appears to be an ideological purge.
Among other things, that means an end to CBS News’ climate reporting. Natural disasters, heat waves, and more no longer receiving coverage.
Truth be told, the purge began earlier. We all saw the sad fate of 60 Minutes after Trump began to rage against the program, spewing false claims of dishonest edits.
That came before Weiss stepped in. This acquisition by Skydance, and the courtship of America’s mad king to allow it to happen, triggered a rapid decline. Weiss is merely another nail in the coffin.
Notably, CBS claims that Variety’s report is untrue
Interestingly, CBS is insisting to TMZ that news of Gayle King leaving CBS Mornings is premature at best.
“There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026,” CBS reported.
The network then affirmed: “She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future.”
Obviously, there are concerns about a broader purge of Black journalists from multiple networks — journalists who are targets for Donald Trump’s ire and that of his supporters.
On the one hand, we would hate for Gayle to become part of that statistic.
At the same time … wouldn’t it be even better if she takes a new job where she doesn’t have to answer to an unqualified hellclown?
Gayle King: Leaving ‘CBS Mornings’ After Ideological Takeover? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.