CBS News president David Rhodes resigns

CAIRO - 7 January 2018: The resignation of CBS News President David Rhodes on Monday was surprising as his contract was supposed to end early this year as reported by the New York Times.

The publication stated that Rhodes was considering over the past few months potential candidates to hold the executive producer position at “60 minutes” news program.

The post was held by Jeff Fager starting 2004 until his ouster in 2018 as he had sent a threatening text to a CBS reporter called Jericka Duncan who was investigating sexual misconduct accusations against him and ousted network’s chief executive Leslie Moonves.

Similar accusations had also resulted in the firing of the anchor of “CBS This Morning” Charlie Rose in 2017. The program was launched by Fager who was also the President of CBS News.

One of the tasks awaiting the new President of CBS News Susan Zirinsky is the appointment of a new executive producer for “60 Minutes,” according to the Washington Post.

Another task is the improvement of the ratings of “CBS Evening News” that remained low after the appointment of anchor Jeff Glor by the departing CBS News president.

Rhodes will leave his post in March 1 to become a senior adviser to the CEO of CBS Corp Joe Ianniello, and to the News Division as he wrote in a memo seen by Reuters.