‘Toxic behavior’: Norah O’Donnell’s attitude under fire at ‘CBS Evening News’

“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell is in third place within the scores, however sources on the community gripe that she’s bought a first-class perspective — at the same time as she faces getting sidelined by her sharp-elbowed, bean-counting boss.

CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani — who has been slashing prices in a bid to make the community worthwhile — is eyeing O’Donnell, who reportedly makes between $6 million and $8 million a 12 months, and whose contract is about to run out this spring, sources advised The Post.

“The next big decision from him is revamping the ‘Evening News,’” mentioned a CBS insider, who defined that the community can discover a cheaper different to be final within the scores.

“It’s not a money maker,” a second supply mentioned, including that O’Donnell’s “toxic behavior” is weighing the present down.

Speculation that her days are numbered has surged because the onset of the Russia-Ukraine struggle. O’Donnell is the one night TV information anchor who isn’t in Eastern Europe, which has taken a toll on scores.

For the week of Feb. 28, CBS’ complete viewers sank to lower than 5.1 million, trailing NBC’s 7.4 million and ABC’s 8.8 million, Nielsen mentioned. Prior to the struggle, O’Donnell was reaching round 5.6 million to five.3 million viewers an evening.

“David Muir, Lester Holt and Anderson Cooper are all in Ukraine. Where’s Norah? We are in the middle of a war and she’s reporting from Washington, DC,” mentioned a supply. “Either she didn’t want to go or leadership didn’t want her to go. It’s bad either way.”

Meanwhile, “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil, rumored as a attainable successor to O’Donnell, has been reporting from Poland and showing on her present nightly. Sources mentioned O’Donnell is lastly being despatched to Poland this weekend and can report from there on Monday, however some insiders say “it’s too late.”

The 48-year-old anchor’s “The Devil Wears Prada” routine features a full “dress rehearsal” of the “Evening News” half an hour earlier than the present airs — an usually tense ritual that has seen O’Donnell chewing out dressing room stylists over her hair and make-up, sources mentioned.

“There was an incident last year in the studio where she ranted about how her bronzer was wrong,” one insider mentioned, noting that her hair and make-up workers take the brunt of her tantrums and have been recognized to finish up in tears.

“We are in the middle of a pandemic and people are dying.”

“She’s a news actress,” one other insider mentioned, noting that the gown rehearsals are “very unusual” for information broadcasts — particularly for an anchor who’s three years right into a job. A 3rd added that the present’s producers use the quirky routine as a approach to coach the “robotic” O’Donnell and “make her look more human,” by critiquing how she delivers the information and reads from the teleprompter.

Some of O’Donnell’s staffers in DC gained’t miss her whereas she’s gone. Insiders mentioned O’Donnell has a $65,000-a-year wardrobe allowance and she or he is explicit about which designers she wears.

“It’s a clothing allowance, every news anchor has one. That figure is incorrect,” O’Donnell’s publicist Cindi Berger mentioned, declining to offer a selected quantity.

Recently, O’Donnell posted a photo of herself on Instagram sporting a black Oscar de la Renta bow-belt fitted wool jacket that retails for $2,700 at Nordstrom at a time when CBS News goes via main cuts, sources mentioned.

O’Donnell’s day by day calls for additionally embody having her Gucci slides ready in entrance of her dressing room door so she will put them on as quickly as she is off the set. 

“I am vehemently refuting these outrageous and sexist claims!” Berger emailed in response to questions on her consumer’s wardrobe and therapy of workers.

“It’s offensive that female anchors and reporters get this type of sexist treatment,” Khemlani mentioned in an e mail assertion late Friday. “We support Norah and the Evening News team and the quality journalism they deliver each and every night.”

The gown rehearsals have likewise rankled the community’s journalists, who declare that O’Donnell makes use of them to exert outsize management over broadcasts, scrapping segments on the final minute as she fusses over her look.

A information anchor usually may go over just a few segments or scripts, however O’Donnell requires everybody from the producers, reporters and editors to run via the complete program. Not solely does that imply the segments should be completed early and are thus not as polished, but it surely additionally provides O’Donnell the prospect to tear up the segments.

“The rehearsals are an excuse to blow up packages 15 minutes before the show,” one supply griped. “She changes the words to segments. Everyone has a stroke.”

Now, insiders say O’Donnell is dealing with warmth from Khemlani, who was employed final 12 months to revamp the group. As beforehand reported by The Post, Khemlani’s gruff, exacting administration fashion has ruffled feathers at CBS, resulting in the departure of a slew of well-respected execs and journalists, together with London Bureau Chief Andy Clarke, who left amid a spat over the price of extracting Afghan journalists and fixers who labored for CBS.  

The exec and O’Donnell started bumping heads final 12 months when The Post first reported that CBS has been quietly trying to find O’Donnell’s substitute forward of her contract expiring this spring.

At the time, Khemlani denied a possible transfer or anchor shakeup, telling The Post: “There are no plans to move the Evening News from Washington. Norah’s presence in Washington has elevated the CBS Evening News’ coverage on all fronts — politics, breaking news, to big interviews including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen just last week. Her reporting on the military and domestic abuse has won awards and changed policies in Washington. And in addition to making headlines, the program is gaining audience share.”

Tensions additional escalated in January when CNN reported that Khemlani approached former MSNBC anchor Brian Williams no less than twice concerning the gig. O’Donnell’s camp was “shaken” and “very angered” by the stories, an individual with information mentioned.

“They feel like Neeraj is devaluing Norah and the credibility of the network,” the supply mentioned. 

Some individuals inside CBS imagine that stories about Khemlani purchasing for a brand new anchor could possibly be a intelligent tactic to get O’Donnell to take an enormous pay minimize. But the consequence of that’s that CBS appears “stupid” in the event that they re-sign the anchor after attempting to switch her, one supply famous. 

When requested publicly about O’Donnell’s job safety, Khemlani told Deadline in January that CBS has “no current plans to change” what it’s doing, however sources doubted the exec’s phrases. 

“I don’t know if Neeraj can make the final decision but he’s going to bring [ratings] data to George Cheeks and Bob Bakish,” the supply mentioned, referring to the CEOs of CBS and its father or mother Paramount Global. “Norah’s contract is up in May. There’s time.”