Flagship CBS News Show Sinks to 'New Low' - Top Producer Reportedly on the Hot Seat
It’s no secret that new CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss has made some sweeping, sometimes-unpopular changes since taking over the beleaguered network in October 2025.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s been quite a bit of turnover at CBS News of late, as all sorts of network personalities continue to bristle under Weiss’ changes.
Most of the turnover has come voluntarily from now-former CBS News employees who’ve taken umbrage with Weiss’ shakeup.
But a blistering report from the New York Post suggested that more changes could be coming for top CBS News veterans — and at least one such change may not be so voluntary this time around.
The report claimed that the top producer for “CBS Evening News,” Kim Harvey, could soon be on the chopping block as the network’s flagship show saw its viewership “plummet to a new low.”
Harvey, who’s been with the network since August, was described by unnamed sources as being framed as the fall guy for the sagging ratings.
While it remains to be seen what Weiss will do with Harvey, the struggles of “CBS Evening News” are inarguable.
As Variety noted Tuesday, “CBS Evening News” ratings plummeted to under 4 million viewers.
The entertainment outlet reported: “The overall audience for the program for the five days ended March 13 stood at nearly 3.83 million, according to data from Nielsen, and at 468,000 among viewers between 25 and 54, the demographic most coveted by advertisers.”
Those numbers look even worse when compared to the show’s peers on other networks.
In that same time frame, ABC’s “World News Tonight” brought in an average of roughly 8.48 million viewers, along with 1.03 million viewers in the 25-54 demo. “NBC Nightly News” drew an average of 6.51 million viewers, and 946,000 in the coveted demo.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” one CBS insider told the New York Post. “If they can’t retain an audience in the middle of a war, God help you when the war ends.”
“It feels like a hot mess every night,” a second source told the outlet, noting the general chaos behind the scenes of “CBS Evening News” after a number of producers quit when buyouts were offered in February.
Of the many alleged criticisms of Harvey, her propensity for ending the program with a softer news segment — often featuring cute animals — was cited as a big one.
“It’s animal story overload,” the first source told the New York Post. “Kim’s thing is animals.”
Weiss has already put “CBS Evening News” through a number of changes since taking over.
She recently installed Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor for her flagship show. According to Variety, Dokoupil — despite some growing pains — began his new role by bringing in over 4 million viewers.
But that number has steadily declined to under 4 million, which Variety describes as “a critical demarcation point that previously spurred alarm at the Paramount Skydance news division.”
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