Norah O\u2019Donnell is set to host \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d next week \u2014 sparking chatter that she might be poised to return to the morning show after a seven-year hiatus, sources told The Post.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell, who had co-hosted the network\u2019s highly-rated morning show \u2014 then called \u201cCBS This Morning\u201d \u2014 with Gayle King and Charlie Rose, will return to hosting duties next week when she\u2019s in the Northeast for her book tour.<\/p>\n
It is unclear if the move is a test to see if there\u2019s any chemistry between King, O\u2019Donnell, and co-host Nate Burleson, as top brass is looking to overhaul the struggling, last-place program. <\/p>\n
Norah O\u2019Donnell is returning to \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d as a host for three days next week, sparking rumors of a return to the anchor chair. Anne Wermiel<\/p>\n
A source close to CBS threw cold water on that idea, saying that O\u2019Donnell is not being considered for the role and is instead part of a rotating cast of people to help fill in the gaps until a third co-host is named.<\/p>\n
But some sources aren\u2019t buying it.<\/p>\n
According to two insiders, network higher-ups including CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss, asked O\u2019Donnell to return to \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d next Monday through Wednesday \u2014 despite her hectic promotional tour.<\/p>\n
A source close to the situation said Weiss has remarked that O\u2019Donnell and King had been able to deliver strong ratings when they co-hosted the show together \u2014 begging the question if they could do it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are going to promote a book, you could do segments on it, you don\u2019t have to have them co-host,\u201d a CBS source said, adding that the network could be looking to test out the correspondent as it moves to overhaul the morning program.<\/p>\n
\u201cCBS Mornings\u201d co-hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson could be on the chopping block as the network looks to overhaul the morning program. CBS via Getty Images<\/p>\n
CBS News declined to comment. <\/p>\n
Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski are looking for ways to revitalize the ratings and the show while keeping costs down \u2014 a tricky task \u2014 that may include moving King off the show, sources said.<\/p>\n
One CBS insider speculated that bringing O\u2019Donnell back could be a \u201cnegotiation tactic\u201d to put pressure on King to ink a lesser deal. \u201cIs this a shot across the bow?\u201d the person asked. <\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell, who is now a special correspondent and \u201c60 Minutes\u201d contributor, has seen a career resurrection under CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss. Allison Shelley\/CBS News<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re definitely going to make some big changes on \u2018CBS Mornings,’\u201d the source said. \u201cThere are a lot of moving parts and they\u2019re trying to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Post has previously reported<\/a> that King\u2019s salary of between $13 million and $15 million is too high, and she could move to a lower paid role, such as special correspondent, or take a pay cut a stay on another year. Sources have also speculated that Burleson, who is said to make several million, could be part of the shake-up.<\/p>\n On Monday, 52-year-old O\u2019Donnell is kicking off a 12-city book tour for her new book \u201cWe the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America\u201d with an interview by King at Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side at 6 pm.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell, Rose and King had pulled in strong ratings when they co-anchored the network\u2019s morning show. \u00a9CBS\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n After hosting \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d on Tuesday, she will head to Boston and then Baltimore for her tour.<\/p>\n One of CBS\u2019 more prominent faces, O\u2019Donnell has been more on the fringes of the network since she was ousted as \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d anchor last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n The former anchor still serves as a contributor to \u201c60 Minutes\u201d and as a special correspondent, bringing in sitdowns President Trump<\/a>, covering the death of Pope Francis<\/a> and the\u00a0election of Pope Leo XIV<\/a>, as well as hosting a recent town hall with Gov. Wes Moore. <\/p>\n \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d is expected to be revamped, after Tony Dokoupil (center), decamped for \u201cEvening News.\u201d CBS via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cNorah\u2019s career is being resurrected under Bari Weiss,\u201d said an insider, who noted that O\u2019Donnell is \u201cdying\u201d to be back in the spotlight and would likely welcome the move back to any anchor chair at the network.<\/p>\n Before O\u2019Donnell was pushed out \u201cEvening News,\u201d the journalist minted some ratings wins when she was co-host of \u201cCBS This Morning\u201d <\/a>with King and Rose from 2012 to 2017. The trio experienced strong ratings increases with total viewers climbing nearly 50% since the show\u2019s relaunch in 2012. <\/p>\n The newsy morning program closed the gap with rivals \u201cToday\u201d and \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d and in February 2016, it reeled in the program\u2019s strongest ratings in 22 years averaging nearly 4 million viewers. <\/p>\n But the ratings began to slide after Rose was fired due to sexual harassment allegations<\/a> in 2017. Two years later, O\u2019Donnell left the morning program for the evening news. <\/p>\n Since then, the show has experienced steady declines and in recent months has seen its ratings hit just 1.8 million total viewers. Sources have pointed to the show\u2019s \u201cwoke\u201d programming <\/a>\u2014 which has been more geared to coastal audiences than middle America \u2014 among other things.<\/p>\n