“CBS Mornings” star anchor Gayle King griped Tuesday about news reports suggesting she could get booted from her show, but stopped short of saying whether she’ll remain at the company.
The comments came in a rambling, at times scattered monologue during a CBS News town hall in which editor in chief Bari Weiss laid out her vision for the network.
King, whose contract is up in May, is in the middle of figuring out if she wants to remain at the network in a new role that would halve her regal annual $13 million paycheck, The Post previously reported. In the meantime, staff have been up in arms over Weiss’ efforts to shake up the network.
“I just wanted to say something about working at CBS. I think we’ve all been walking around with gasoline on our pants,” King told her colleagues, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by The Post.
“We’ve had a lot of incoming people come and pet me like a puppy and say, ‘I’m so sorry that you’re leaving CBS. I won’t watch you guys again. It’s not the same place,’” she added — though she didn’t directly address the prospect of her exit.
Earlier this month, King and Weiss met to discuss the anchor’s future, as CBS News leadership has been looking to change her gig and halve her salary, The Post reported.
On Tuesday, King praised how hard she and her coworkers work and how proud they are of the work they do.
Moments later, she returned to news reports about her, saying: “I read the s–t and I go, ‘I don’t even know where that’s coming from.’”
Seemingly referring to her contract negotiations, she added: “We’re right in the middle, we’ll see how it’s gonna work out.”
King then made meandering remarks that seemed to serve as a vote of confidence for Weiss and her strategy to turn around the struggling news network.
“I like Bari, that you laid out a vision, you know?” the anchor said. “For many people, they’ve never even heard your freakin’ voice. So it’s good for them to hear — to see you’re a real person, and this is what you want, and how you feel about us, and how you feel about this job.”
Earlier, Weiss said King was “absolutely beloved” and that she sees her “long into the future” at CBS, before jokingly saying that all morning show questions should be directed to CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who is leading the charge in the program’s revamp.
Weiss said the network must rely less on the old linear TV model — which has seen viewership plummet for years — and expand its digital footprint. That includes monetizing journalism with paywalls and subscription options while developing live events, podcasts and social media.
She also acknowledged that the network’s “transformation” will translate to layoffs but did not go into detail. In October, CBS News fired about 100 staffers, and more cuts are expected in the coming weeks.
