CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell is publicly urging liberal viewers who have criticised network editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to give "CBS Mornings" a chance ahead of her return to the show. O'Donnell, who previously co-anchored the programme (then "CBS This Morning") from 2012 to 2019, will rejoin Gayle King and Nate Burleson after Labour Day, taking the seat vacated by Tony Dokoupil, who has moved to anchor "CBS Evening News". The move comes amid ongoing friction between parts of CBS's audience and Weiss, who was installed as editor-in-chief by new Paramount chief executive David Ellison and has been accused by some left-leaning critics of being too accommodating to conservatives.

Responding directly to hostile comments beneath an Instagram post announcing her return, O'Donnell told sceptical viewers "Just watch our show!" and "Give us a try," pushing back against suggestions she should have left CBS. The show's producer, Jon Tower, described her return as a "homecoming," citing her seven-year on-air partnership with King. O'Donnell has also been named a new "60 Minutes" correspondent as part of a broader shake-up at the programme, which has seen several correspondents depart and Ross Douthat join from The New York Times. The changes come as Ellison's Paramount pursues a $111 billion (£87 billion) takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal currently delayed by an antitrust lawsuit from California's attorney general.