CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews is stepping down following a string of controversies over her management of the embattled network, including accusations of discriminatory hiring and management practices.
The longtime CBS exec, who was named president last August, told staffers Wednesday that she would step down and become a senior advisor for coverage of the 2024 presidential election over the next several months before leaving the company.
“No journalist wants to ‘be’ the news, especially me,” Ciprian-Matthews said in a memo to staff obtained by The Post. “But today, I have some news of my own to share. After much consideration, I’ve decided this is the right time to step away from my current role at CBS News and begin to write my next chapter.”
CBS News parent company Paramount Global has agreed to merge with Skydance, a deal which will enact a $2 billion cost cutting initiative. Ahead of the deal, Paramount’s co-CEOs have signaled enacting $500 million of cuts across the company.
Ciprian-Matthews “will transition into this new role over the next few weeks, and we will share more updates soon,” said Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS’ news, stations and syndication operations, in a memo. A new president of CBS News was not immediately named.
Ciprian-Matthews, who has been at the company for more than 30 years, has been a lightning-rod figure at the embattled news network, having racked up human-resources complaints from staffers over unfair hiring practices, as revealed by an investigation by The Post in January.
Ciprian-Matthews is the third CBS News exec to cycle through the newsroom’s top job since 2021. She had been promoted when CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani was ousted after a short-two-year run which was marred by a slew of HR complaints over bullying, as revealed by The Post.