EXCLUSIVE: Adrienne Roark and Jennifer Mitchell will take on expanded roles as part of a new leadership structure at CBS News and Stations, the latest changes at the division.
Roark will serve as president of editorial and newsgathering for CBS News and Stations, assuming the responsibilities of Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, who stepped down as president of CBS News and will serve as senior editorial adviser through the election. Roark will lead field and newsroom and newsgathering teams as well as CBS News Radio.
Roark, who had been president of content development and integration, also will continue to lead the CBS Local News Innovation Lab in Dallas-Fort Worth; the Centers of Excellence she has built around data journalism, weather and specialized beats/units; and WCBS and WLNY in New York, as well as WBZ and WSBK in Boston.
Mitchell will become president of stations and digital for CBS News and Stations, with primary responsibility for CBS Stations, as well as the division’s local and national digital properties. She will oversee 23 of the 27 CBS-owned stations. That expands her portfolio to now include seven stations in the East that had been led by Roark, including KYW and WPSG in Philadelphia, KDKA and WPKD in Pittsburgh, WFOR and WBFS in Miami, and WJZ in Baltimore, the network said. Mitchell had been president of CBS Stations (West Coast and Midwest).
Roark and Mitchell will continue to report to Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures. Roark and Mitchell also will share responsibility for overseeing the content for the division’s local and national streaming channels, the network said.
McMahon will oversee all CBS News network broadcasts, working with the executive producers of the shows “to continue maximizing our brands to their fullest potential on broadcast and beyond.”
Also announced were new roles for other news executives. Alvin Patrick will expand his responsibilities to include specials and documentaries for platforms across CBS News, Stations and Media Ventures. He will continue to serve as executive producer of the CBS News Race and Culture Unit, as well as overseeing longform programming for CBS News and digital streaming properties. He will report to McMahon.
Terri Stewart will become senior vice president of newsgathering, leading day-to-day editorial newsgathering across the CBS News and Stations division. Wendy Fisher has been named senior vice president of editorial, guiding news gathering efforts and running community journalism news hubs. She will focus on the development of a CBS News and Stations coverage desk, working across newsroom and bureaus. She also will continue to oversee weather coverage for the division. Stewart and Fisher will report to Roark.
David Reiter has been named senior vice president, CBS News 24/7, special events and special projects. The role includes responsibilities for special coverage on television and leading the division’s streaming initiatives. He will report to Roark.
Last week, the network unveiled a revamp of CBS Evening News, with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois anchoring the broadcast from New York after Norah O’Donnell steps down after the election. Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, also is taking on a new role as supervising producer of the evening broadcast. Margaret Brennan will be a regular presence on the evening news, leading political coverage from Washington, D.C.
In a memo to staffers, McMahon wrote that Roark “will work across the organization to help further develop our news gathering processes while managing all editorial aspects across CBS News. While Adrienne’s focus will be on network news, she will continue to prioritize the integration of our local, global and national teams. McMahon noted that Roark has spearheaded several cross-divisional initiatives, including Eye on America and the National Community Journalism Movement, and in recent months “has had a greater presence in the control room, providing leadership and support to our breaking news coverage.” That included the assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump and the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
“By leveraging the Super Desk to connect our teams, she will help ensure that our daily news coverage is distinctive, comprehensive and aligns with our mission to uphold our legacy while creating our future,” McMahon wrote.
McMahon cited Mitchell’s key role in CBS News 24/7, the flagship show of the streaming network that was launch as part of the channel’s rebrand earlier this year. McMahon wrote that Mitchell “has played a vital role in growing our local streams as they have skyrocketed from fourth to first, collectively, against our same-market competitive over the course of just two years.”
The changes also come as CBS parent Paramount Global unveiled plans to trim $500 million in costs. That was followed by the announcement of a planned merger of Paramount Global with Skydance Media.
