God-Like Anchor Days At News Platforms Are Gone

Hoda Kotb's out. George Stephanopoulos is reportedly staying on board at ABC. And on Thursday, Norah O'Donnell signed off as the "CBS Evening News" anchor after a six-year run.

The ever-changing TV news business is reportedly offering anchors, from Kotb to O'Donnell, their walking papers or new contracts with significant pay cuts, and many big-name journalists are declining them or shifting to smaller roles, reports USAToday.

CNN's Alyson Camerota and Poppy Harlow left CNN last year, and so did Chris Wallace. Univision anchor Jorge Ramos left the U.S. Spanish language network shortly after the 2024 election. Stephanopoulos, though, is apparently sticking with ABC — at least for now — after the network's $15 million settlement involving his comments about President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, struggling CNN shifted much of its programming lineup, bumping hosts such as Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer to earlier timeslots as the company cuts about 200 TV positions, or 6% of its workforce, according to the network's own reporting. The company also removed Jim Acosta from their lineup, leaving him without a show.

But over the past year, a slew of notable anchors jumped ship. At least a half dozen marquee hosts at U.S. news organizations — from Fox News to CNN — have left their powerful perches at the anchor desk.

As news consumers flee traditional platforms for peppy TikTok videos and political podcasts, media experts are opening up about TV anchors changing the channel on the format.

The “big three” networks — CBS, NBC and ABC — have toyed in recent years with replacing big-name news anchors, like Kotb and O’Donnell, with little-or-lesser-known broadcasters. Kotb was replaced by Craig Melvin, well-known among "Today" viewers but far from a household name.

When ex-"Today" anchor Katie Couric left the CBS nightly anchor chair in 2011, she was replaced by Scott Pelley. Before O'Donnell took the reins of "Evening News," the network tapped Jeff Glor, who was recently laid off

Their hope, experts say, is that news organizations can cut high salaries, hiring younger anchors whom they hope will appeal to a younger audience.