The “CBS Evening News” will be “the most trusted source in journalism” and provide viewers with urgency, depth and context, incoming anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell told staffers Tuesday at CBS affiliate WBNS-10TV in Columbus, Ohio.
The “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” will debut July 15. Today at WBNS-10TV, she said the network’s flagship evening newscast will see “an evolution, not a revolution” in the format when it begins next month.
“We have the best journalists at CBS News and at our affiliates,” she said. “We are going to showcase that reporting every evening.”
O’Donnell noted the “CBS Evening News” will focus on investigative reports and original reporting, plus find new ways to connect with audiences wherever they are. The broadcast will also continue the distinctive journalism that is a hallmark of CBS News, such as her Emmy Award-winning coverage of sexual harassment at the U.S. Air Force Academy; the ongoing “Eye on America” series that features in-depth reporting on important topics across America; and CBS News’ multi-platform reporting on immigration, telling the stories of families separated at the border.
“We know what happened, but we need to know why it happened,” O’Donnell said.
The “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” will be anchored from New York this summer and move to its permanent home Washington, D.C., later in the fall.
“The best way to cover a story is to get as close to it as you can,” she said. “Every story has a nexus in Washington.”
The newscast will not focus solely on politics, however. Being in Washington “will boost our reporting on the important issues that Americans care about” and provide unique access and coverage for Campaign 2020, she said.
In the weeks leading up to the launch of the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell,” the veteran journalist and former “CBS This Morning” co-host has been visiting CBS stations around the country. She has also established a reputation as a trusted voice, conducting exclusive and headline-generating interviews with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg.
While in Columbus, O’Donnell met with WBNS-10TV president and general manager John Cardenas, the WBNS team of reporters and producers and recorded promos with anchors Yolanda Harris and Jerry Revish.
“I know all of you embody the values of quality and excellence, and that is what we stand for at the ‘CBS Evening News’ as well,” O’Donnell told her colleagues at the station. “You guys are #1. We need you.”