CBS News president and co-head Neeraj Khemiani, left, and co-anchor Gayle King attend The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Most Powerful People in Media issue celebration at The Pool on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
CBS News chief Neeraj Khemlani informed his staff over the weekend that he will be stepping down from his role for new pursuits within the company, according to a new report from Variety.
Khemlani joined Paramount Global, the CBS parent company, in 2021 and oversaw some of the most important shows on the network, including 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, and Face The Nation. The news executive will now sign a multi-year deal with CBS to develop books for Simon & Schuster as well as documentaries.
His resignation was announced minutes after the the New York Post published a story on Sunday that claimed the network chief had told close friends that he’s now out of his post. At the end of July, The Post also ran a story that said Khemlani was being investigated by an HR executive for “bullying, rude” behavior towards staff.
“We maintained the #1 position of our iconic weekend programs, successfully developed and launched business plans to grow digital revenue that will sustain CBS News for the next generation, and elevated and promoted so many of the people who work here day after day to deliver on our journalistic mission,” Khemlani said in a memo to staff.
He added, “I’m so proud of what all of you have accomplished — the scores of journalistic wins, the superb storytelling, the creativity that enhanced every aspect of our programming — that has put this division on a stronger path forward.”
Khemlani came to CBS after a stint as a senior executive at Hearst, and had earlier in his career also been a producer at “60 Minutes.” He wasted no time probing the financials of CBS News’ programs, according to staffers familiar with the matter, and was dogged during his tenure by reports of speaking brusquely to producers and executives.
The shake-up is the second of CBS News’ command structure since 2021 under the aegis of parent corporation Paramount Global, which was formed in 2019 out of the merger of the companies known previously as Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. The previous CBS News chief, the veteran producer Susan Zirinsky, took the reins of the unit in 2019, a bid by CBS executives to put an end to a chaotic period that saw the departures of anchor Charlie Rose and executive Jeff Fager amid claims about their behavior. Both men denied allegations made about them.
