Since buyouts were offered to the CBS Evening News team last month, a significant number of staffers have taken it.
Eleven of about 40 staffers have accepted the buyout offer, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The departures are taking place amid an overhaul of the broadcast, with Tony Dokoupil taking the anchor chair last month.
The buyouts were announced a day after Bari Weiss, CBS News editor in chief, held an all-staff meeting to share her strategy for the news division. At the end of her presentation, Weiss also suggested an exit to those who believed that the strategy was “not your bag.” She said that there are “so many exciting things to spend your career doing.”
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One producer who is departing, Alicia Hastey, sent a letter to staffers on Wednesday in which she said that there has been “a sweeping new vision prioritizing a break from traditional broadcast norms to embrace what has been called ‘heterodox’ journalism. The truth is that commitment to these people and the stories they have to tell is increasingly becoming impossible. Stories may instead be evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures reporters and producers to self-censor or avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines.” The New York Times first obtained the letter.
The news division underwent a round of layoffs in October, with close to 100 staffers let go as part of Paramount-wide job reductions. There has been expectation of more cuts to come.
