MS NOW Lands ‘CBS Mornings’ Boss Who Exited After Bari Weiss Arrival
What To Know
- Shawna Thomas is beginning a new gig at MS NOW after leaving her five-year position as executive producer of CBS Mornings.
- She will be MS NOW’s new political director ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
- CBS News has been facing turmoil in recent months, with other employees, including Anderson Cooper, also stepping away from the network.
Shawna Thomas served as executive producer of CBS Mornings for five years before announcing she would be departing the show in March. Now, Thomas has jumped ship to MS NOW, where she has been named the cable network’s political director, according to Variety.
With the midterm elections coming up later this year, Thomas will be directing coverage of campaigns and elections. “It will be an honor to work with everyone at MS NOW to help inform an audience that craves context and meaning, along with the political machinations of the moment. It’s no secret that I’ve missed Washington, D.C., and this is a homecoming of sorts,” she said in a statement.
MS NOW’s Washington bureau chief added, “Bringing Shawna on board strengthens our ability to position MS NOW at the center of the 2028 election, which is expected to be one of the most competitive in recent history. Given the scale, reach, and impact of our audience, we are well-positioned to play a leading role, with the road to the midterms and the White House running through MS NOW.”
CBS News has been undergoing major changes in recent months, beginning with the hiring of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief in October 2025. Thomas announced she would be leaving the network in a memo to her colleagues in early March, according to Fox News.
“For five years, I’ve tried to make this show something [Gayle King] and everybody on this team want to be a part of. Want to watch. Want to learn from,” Thomas wrote. “And in return, this team has made me more thoughtful, empathetic and expanded my personal definition of storytelling. I’ve had the privilege of helping to make 10 (now 12!) hours of television each week that goes out free to people everywhere. I’ve taken that responsibility of trying to inform, educate, entertain and make people care about the world around them very seriously, and I know the people here do, too.”
Thomas admitted that she’d been thinking about making this decision for a while, adding, “I’m tired y’all. I will be thanking everyone I possibly can with my voice and my face — especially Jon Tower and Peter Burgess, who I will be transitioning things over to — in the coming weeks.”
Thomas’ exit was just one of many shake-ups over at CBS News recently. Anderson Cooper announced that he would be leaving 60 Minutes at the end of the 2026 season. Longtime producer Mary Walsh also left the network at the end of February, and CBS Evening News producer Alicia Hastey quit her position, noting, “there has been a sweeping new vision prioritizing a break from traditional broadcast norms.”
Weiss has also began implementing changes, most notably moving Tony Dokoupil from CBS Mornings to the anchor desk on CBS Evening News.
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