Norah O’Donnell’s Salary Slashed At ‘CBS Evening News’

Norah O'Donnell

“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell’s pay package got slashed by more than half this spring amid a brutal round of cost cuts at the third-place network, The NY Post reports.

According to insiders, CBS News re-signed the 48-year-old anchor in April with a yearly salary of $3.8 million — down from the previous $8 million — following reports that the network had been casting around for a replacement as O’Donnell’s ratings continue to sag.

CBS execs gave O’Donnell a “low ball” offer during the hard-knuckle negotiations, which they “expected O’Donnell to reject,” according to a source briefed on the talks. When she accepted it, some executives appeared surprised, the source added.

Insiders said O’Donnell’s capitulation came after months of clashes with Neeraj Khemlani, the sharp-elbowed, cost-slashing co-president of CBS News who had been openly looking for a new anchor to replace her during the months before her contract was up in April.

Neerai Khemlani

Khemlani reached out to former MSNBC anchor Brian Williams, who turned him down, according to a report from CNN. He also considered NBC’s Craig Melvin and, as reported by The Post, even mulled promoting Tony Dokoupil, her old co-anchor at “CBS Mornings,” to the role.

Insiders said Dokoupil’s candidacy was particularly galling for O’Donnell, as Khemlani in January assigned the 41-year-old morning show host to anchor a special broadcast from from Washington, DC, on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 capitol riots. And shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CBS News again set tongues wagging by initially sending Dokoupil instead of O’Donnell to Poland to cover the unfolding war.

A spokesperson for CBS News denied Khemlani was seeking to dump O’Donnell.

“Wrong again. Neeraj led the effort to retain and re-sign about a dozen of our biggest anchors and correspondents over the last year including Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King — and recruited a few new ones like Nate Burleson and Robert Costa,” the spokesperson said.

In the last two months, “Evening News” has dipped below 5 million in total average daily viewers. according to Nielsen. O’Donnell’s show grabbed 5.4 million in the first quarter, trailing “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and “ABC World News Tonight,” which nabbed 7.8 million and 8.9 million, respectively.