CBS anchor Norah OโDonnell bid farewellย to her viewers for the last time as she stepped down from her role amid a wave of sweeping changes at the network.
The veteran broadcaster signed off on Thursday calling her position, โthe honor of a lifetimeโ.
OโDonnell, 51, has held the role since 2019 but first joined the network back in 2012.
She is leaving the primetime slot to take on an expanded role afterย CBS parents company Paramount Global axed 2,000 jobs.
Oprahย Winfrey was among those to lead tributes to the anchor, surprising her with a video montage looking back on her 1,300 broadcasts.
โYou have so much to be proud of,โ Winfrey said. โYour work as the anchor and managing editor of the โCBS Evening Newsโ has not only won awards, but more importantly, has made such a difference and informed our nation.โ
The tribute featured clips from OโDonnellโs interview withย Pope Francis, former President George Bush, Vice Presidentย Kamala Harris,ย Dolly Partonย and other high profile guests.
CBS anchor Norah OโDonnell bid farewell to her viewers for the last time as she stepped down from her role on Thursday
โThis has been the honor of a lifetime to anchor this legacy broadcast,โ OโDonnell said.
โThe โCBS Evening Newsโ โ for good reason โ is the longest-running evening newscast in America. And it is powered by the finest journalists in the world.โ
โThe correspondents, producers, researchers and crews who work tirelessly to bring you the news every night. That wonโt change because journalism matters. I know that because Iโve heard that from so many of you โ our viewers.
โSo from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting us and welcoming hard news with heart into your homes.โ
OโDonnell announced she was stepping back in July, months before Paramount Global announced the shake up geared at slashing $500 million in costs ahead of a scheduled merger with Skydance Media, theย New York Postย reports.
The changes come as the network has struggled with plummeting viewer numbers which have trailed behind rivals ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News.
CBSโ Evening News averaged 4.6 million viewers in the most recent quarter and particularly struggle din the crucial 25-54-year-old demographic, pulling in just 670,000 viewers.
OโDonnell will still work on long form broadcasts for CBSโ specials, โSunday Morningโ and โ60 Minutesโ.
The broadcaster announced her departure months before CBS parents company Paramount Global axed 2,0000 jobs
She was surprised on her last day with a video montage from Oprah Winfrey detailing some of the highlights of the last five years
It featured highlights from her career, including this historic papal interview with Pope Francis last year
OโDonnell joined CBS in 2012 and has been an anchor since 2019. She will remain with the network in an expanded role
OโDonnell is being replaced byย CBS reporter John Dickerson (left) and CBS New York anchor Maurice Dubois (right)
โI will miss you too,โ OโDonnell told viewers. โSo for the final time, thatโs tonightโs โCBS Evening News.โ I owe it all to everyone I work with. Seriously. Love you. Goodnight.โ
She will be replaced by CBS reporter John Dickerson and CBS New York anchor Maurice Dubois who will co-host the slot.
โI want to say thank you to the viewers,โ DuBois said on his show Thursday. โThis is my hometown.
โAnd without the viewers, there is no us so thank you for everything over the years weโll keep going at a different time.โ
It comes after the network wasย rocked by controversy over statements made by morning news anchorย Tony Dokoupil during an interview withย Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel.
He was rebuked at a meeting of CBS executives after he clashed on air with Coates after the author called Israel an โapartheid stateโ.
However, he faced no further repercussions and continues to co-anchor the morning show.
