CBS News is already backtracking on a revamp of its “Evening News” program — and the network’s embattled boss risks becoming a casualty, The Post has learned.
Just weeks after a drastic overhaul replaced Norah O’Donnell with a “60 Minutes”-style news magazine helmed by a pair of little-known anchors, the Tiffany Network is reverting to a more news-driven broadcast as ratings tumble, sources said.
That’s after embarrassments like last week, when the “Evening News” led with “Why can’t Johnny read?” — a six-minute feature package about student literacy — despite a busy news cycle that included Elon Musk appearing at the White House and Russia’s release of a US prisoner.
“They’ve realized they can’t ignore the news,” said an industry insider of the third-place show. “You can’t really ignore the tsunami of news that is coming out of the White House and Washington.”
The new format was the brainchild of CBS News CEO and president Wendy McMahon, who wanted to shake up the perennially third-place program anchored by O’Donnell for the past five years.
McMahon tapped “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens to bring longer reported pieces to the “Evening News.” She also replaced O’Donnell with lesser-known — and less expensive anchors Maurice DuBois and Jeff Dickerson.
The duo has been widely panned by current and former CBS News employees.
One source said Dickerson “looked like a deer in the headlights” during the nightly broadcast, while another said former WCBS anchor DuBois is a “complete unknown” to anyone outside of the New York City market.
“There are a couple of things you want from an anchorman or woman,” said a former news executive. “You want to invite them into your house because you like them. Or they have to have credibility.”
“What credibility does Maurice DuBois have and what credibility does John Dickerson have other than political reporting?” the source added. “None.”
The overhaul comes as Skydance Media aims to merge with the Paramount Global-owned network this year in a deal that is expected to result in sweeping layoffs and a restructuring of Paramount, home to CBS, MTV and Showtime.
Sources told The Post that there are rumors that Skydance CEO David Ellison and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, who is primed to take over as president of the merged company, has doubts about McMahon’s strategy for the news division.
“The Ellison-Skydance contingent has not been impressed by her strategy or leadership ability,” another source told The Post.
Skydance and Shell declined to comment
“I don’t think Wendy survives,” the first insider said, citing the future of the exec at CBS under new corporate overlords. “Where are Wendy’s wins? What has she done?”
CBS News declined to comment.
On Wednesday, McMahon’s right hand Adrienne Roark exited the network, which insiders speculated looked like the start of a stampede ahead of the merger.
Since the Dickerson-Dubois pairing was launched on Jan. 27, the ratings have experienced a consistent decline, according to Nielsen data. While the show debuted with 5.2 million total viewers, it slid to 4.8 million viewers on average its first week on air.
By its second week, the show lost roughly 300,000 viewers and by its third week ended Feb. 16, it garnered just under 4.5 million total viewers the data showed.
A source close to CBS News said the drop-off in viewers was “not a surprise.”
“When there is an anchor change, traditionally there is a dip in ratings. We understood there would be a short-term ratings hit and we are in this for the long term and are confident in our long game,” the source said.
The “Evening News” has scrambled to adapt on the fly, leading with more breaking news and analysis from CBS News correspondents including Margaret Brennan, who has been criticized by President Trump and Vice President Vance.
On Sunday, Brennan was ripped by critics after she claimed free speech was “weaponized” in Germany to carry out the Holocaust during a back-and-forth with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Part of the McMahon’s initial strategy for the revamped “Evening News’ was to cut costs by running fewer, longer stories than shorter, news-driven stories told by reporters on the scene.
For the Delta plane crash story, CBS News didn’t send a reporter to Toronto, but instead ran an interview of a survivor by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The show has found other ways to quickly — and cheaply — cover news stories such as the IRS layoffs under Trump, the egg shortage and the measles outbreak in Texas, in its “round up” segment that lasts roughly one minute each night.
“They have realized a cheap way to cover the news,” an industry insider said, noting that the show’s credibility may have slid.
Puck News recently reported that the feature-driven format and show’s anchor duo have become fodder for a broader internal critique of the show and its leader McMahon.
