Who is Wendy McMahon? Head of CBS News steps down after fallout with network
CBS News chief Wendy McMahon steps down after fallout with network, calls last few months with the company “challenging”
Wendy McMahon stepped down as the head of CBS News on Monday. In a message to the network's staff, the 51-year-old cited disagreements with the networks as the reason behind her decision, calling the past few months “challenging,” NBC News reported.
Wendy McMahon steps down as CEO of CBS News
“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon, who has worked with the network since 2021 before becoming the CEO in 2023, wrote in her letter. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership,” she added. Her departure comes as the network contends Donald Trump's $20 billion lawsuit.
The president sued CBS News, alleging that it edited an interview with his 2024 Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, last fall to benefit her. However, the network has denied these claims, per Associated Press. At the same time, CBS News' parent company, Paramount Global, is in talks to potentially settle the lawsuit and is seeking approval of a $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.
McMahon echoed similar sentiments to those of Bill Owens, who quit the network in April. “Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience,” he said at the time, per New York Times.
“So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” the former 60 Minutes executive producer added in his memo. He further told the outlet at the time that “it’s clear the company is done with me.”
