Gayle King has recently agreed to a term with CBS News, resolving concerns about her position as her contract was ready to expire.
She’ll remain to co-host CBS Mornings, and on her SiriusXM show, Gayle King in the House, she informed followers, “I officially signed on the dotted line. So I will be with CBS a little longer.”
Her position had been a source of discussion, but CNN revealed last week that she had elected to continue with the network.
She also tackled some of the conjecture about her career in her programs, such as her desire to relocate to California and the fact that she has been courted by other channels.
“I don’t know why people thought that just because you have a grandchild now all of a sudden you just want to give up your career and go sit in California,” King said. “No. I still, you know, I still feel that in many ways I’m just getting started. So I celebrated my 10-year anniversary, that was always great fun.”
She also mentioned future changes at CBS News, which are focusing on streaming under the leadership of Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon, the president and co-heads of CBS News and Stations, respectively. “The mood and the energy were so fantastic over there,” King remarked of the new CBS News Streaming studio where she visited.
“The only thing I don’t like about this job is the hours,” she said. “But you can’t complain about the hours cause the job is what it is. And I’m so proud to be a part of the team, I’m so glad that the negotiations are over.”
King said that she signed the new deal on Thursday. She said that “the thing that really got to me” was a town hall this week in which Khemlani and McMahon gave a presentation. “Now I looked at that and I thought, ‘God do I wanna be a part of that?’ You know they believe in swinging for the fences, and I’m thinking I wanna play. I wanna play.”
According to the New York Times, CNN’s Jeff Zucker contacted King’s representatives earlier this week about entering the channel in the 9 p.m. slot, which has been without a regular host since Chris Cuomo was sacked.
King joined CBS This Morning as a co-host in 2012, and her stint has been one of the most popular for the channel in the early morning, despite the fact that the show is still third in the ratings. Last year, the show was renamed CBS Mornings, and Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil joined as co-hosts.
Khemlani refused to respond to King’s agreement or that of CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell, whose employment also expires this year, in an exchange last week. On the streaming platform, King will present the first new CBS Reports documentary, while O’Donnell will lead a monthly resurrection of Person to Person. “We have no current plans to change what we are doing,” Khemlani said when asked whether it meant O’Donnell will stay in the anchor chair. We’re leaning into our strength.”
