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McMahon Overboard

With the high-wire tensions between Paramount and the tormentor-in-chief at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it’s easy to view the exit of CBS News C.E.O. Wendy McMahon as fourth-estate martyrdom. But maybe she just wasn’t very good at her job.

wendy mcmahon
Wendy’s defenestration was broadly interpreted as another plot twist in Paramount’s long, dispiriting political drama. On the face of it, she was the latest casualty of Shari Redstone’s hard-fought effort to sell the company to David Ellison’s Skydance. Photo: Shedrick Pelt/Getty Images
Dylan Byers
May 21, 2025

On Saturday afternoon, Paramount Global co-C.E.O. George Cheeks called Wendy McMahon, the long-embattled C.E.O. of CBS News, and informed her that the time had come to tender her resignation. Practically speaking, he was firing her. But, for the sake of her reputation and that of the company, he was officially giving her the opportunity to save face. On Monday morning, Wendy informed staff that she was “stepping down,” since it had “become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”