CBS News has named Tom Cibrowski president and executive editor, tapping an ABC News veteran to lead the news division at a critical moment.
Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Television Stations and CBS Media Ventures, announced Cibrowski’s hiring Thursday morning. Cibrowski succeeds Adrienne Roark, the former CBS News president of newsgathering, who left for a job at Tegna earlier this month.
Cibrowski, however, will have a wider purview. Roark led newsgathering and editorial, but McMahon herself oversaw some key shows. Cibrowski will run all CBS News shows, as well as newsgathering and reporting units.
“Tom brings three decades of experience in broadcast journalism to CBS News, some of it here at CBS, where he served as a broadcast producer at The Early Show,” McMahon wrote in a memo to staff. “Everything he does is marked by a deep understanding of the news landscape, and he is committed to telling stories with impact, integrity, and fairness.”
Cibrowski had been with ABC News for 25 years in a number of roles, including as executive producer of Good Morning America, leading that show when it overtook NBC’s Today in the ratings.
“Journalism and storytelling are what CBS News does the best,” Cibrowski said in a statement. “There is simply no one better. I’m beyond thrilled to be returning to this iconic and unmatched organization and can’t wait to hit the ground running.”
He joins CBS at a tumultuous moment for the brand. CBS owner Paramount is in the midst of selling to Skydance, with the FCC investigating a 60 Minutes interview with former VP Kamala Harris over allegations of “news distortion” because of how it was edited. President Trump had sued Paramount over the matter, and the company has held settlement discussion, to the chagrin of CBS News employees who find the allegations not credible.
And CBS just switched up its flagship CBS Evening News, with Norah O’Donnell leaving the anchor chair to make way for Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson. The change has not helped in the ratings, which are down from last year.