CBS News executive Adrienne Roark leaving embattled network
CBS News president of editorial and newsgathering Adrienne Roark is leaving the embattled network to join local news juggernaut TEGNA, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
Roark's exit was announced internally to CBS News staffers on Wednesday, according to an employee in attendance.
Roark will exit CBS News as the network deals with a looming merger and multiple controversies, including President Donald Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against CBS and parent company Paramount Global over alleged election interference through deceptive editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris one month before they faced off in the presidential election. CBS News executives refused to release an unedited transcript until after the election, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got involved.
Roark, who was promoted to the position last August, "manages teams in the field and across all newsrooms, including correspondents, assignment desks, bureaus, booking teams, standards and practices, the Super Desk and CBS News Radio," according to the network. She also "spearheads developing new newsgathering processes while managing all editorial aspects at CBS News."
No replacement has been named.
CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Roark has been named chief content officer at TEGNA.
"I'm thrilled to join TEGNA and look forward to working with the talented team to continue innovating and delivering high-quality, audience-driven stories for the tens of millions of community members who come to our platforms daily for their local news," Roark said in a statement.
Last year, Roark was the subject of media industry chatter when she reprimanded CBS News host Tony Dokoupil over an interview with pro-Palestinian author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Dokoupil, who is Jewish, irked liberal colleagues by bluntly stating that Coates's book, "The Message," read like something you would find in "the backpack of an extremist." He also pressed Coates on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist.
The interview prompted backlash from some CBS News staff, who felt Dokoupil pressed Coates too strongly. CBS News ultimately forced Dokoupil to meet with the network's in-house Race and Culture Unit following complaints.
"We will still ask tough questions. We will still hold people accountable… but we will do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door," Roark said during an emotional meeting that was leaked to the Free Press.
"We are here to report news without fear or favor," Roark added. "There are times we fail our audiences and each other. We're in one of those times right now, and it's been growing. And we're at a tipping point."
The head of CBS' parent company, Paramount CEO Shari Redstone, sided with Dokoupil instead of Roark and other executives.
"I think Tony did a great job with that interview. I think he handled himself and showed the world and modeled what civil discourse is. He showed that there was accountability, that there is a system of checks and balances, and frankly, I was very proud of the work that he did," Redstone said during a panel in New York, according to The Washington Post.
Redstone said CBS made a mistake in how it handled the aftermath.
"As hard as it was, frankly, for me to go against the company, because I love this company, and I believe in it, and I think we have a great, great executive team, I think they made a mistake here," Redstone said.
Former CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell left "CBS Evening News" last month and the network has seen a ratings dip as it continues to tinker with the program in her absence. The network also faced backlash when "60 Minutes" aired a friendly interview this month with local German officials as the country's government initiates a nationwide crackdown on offensive speech.
As for Trump's lawsuit, Redstone is reportedly considering settling the suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing potential retribution by Trump's FCC, which has the authority to halt the multibillion-dollar transaction.
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