CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews told staff on Wednesday that she would step down, a person familiar confirmed to The Daily Beast, transitioning at the end of the month to a senior adviser role to guide 2024 election coverage before leaving the company entirely.
The abrupt announcement came two days after CBS’ parent company Paramount completed its merger with David Ellison’s Skydance, a move Ciprian-Matthews admitted was the impetus for her decision, as she wasn’t sure whether she’d be leading their new version of the news operation.
“We all know our industry and company are going through a transformation,” she wrote in a memo, according to The New York Times. “I do not want to be disingenuous with any of you about who should drive these decisions.”
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Ciprian-Matthews stepped into the role less than a year ago following the ouster of co-president Neeraj Khemlani after reported staff clashings and an HR investigation. Her tenure, however, was also impacted by layoffs, including the high-profile departure of reporter Catherine Herridge in February.
It’s unclear who will lead the news organization in the interim, nor when it would seek to find a permenant replacement. A CBS News spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Her exit also comes ahead of massive cuts planned for the new Paramount. Ellison plans to make more than $2 billion in cuts across the entire company, according to The New York Times, dwarfing the $500 million figure proposed by the former executive team last month. Such cuts would likely impact the news organization, which has consistently ranked third in nightly news ratings behind ABC and NBC.
Ciprian-Matthews’ abdication leaves the majority of broadcast news operations without a permanent leader ahead of the election after Kim Godwin stepped down as ABC News’ president in May. A search for Godwin’s replacement is still ongoing.
