CBS This Morning

The original incarnation of CBS This Morning made its debut on November 30, 1987, with hosts Harry Smith, former Good Morning America news anchor Kathleen Sullivan, and Mark McEwen, a holdover from the show's infotainment-intensive predecessor The Morning Program as weather caster and announcer. Sullivan was replaced by Paula Zahn on February 26, 1990.

Beginning on October 26, 1992, in an effort to prevent affiliates from dropping the program, CBS increased the amount of time available during the broadcast for local stations, most of which broadcast their own early morning news programs before the national news begins. Nevertheless, several CBS stations in top-ranking markets, like then-affiliates WJBK in Detroit, WAGA in Atlanta, WHDH in Boston and KDKA in Pittsburgh (as of 2022, still a CBS station) dropped the program in favor of either local or syndicated programming. KDKA would resume airing the program in the summer of 1995. Another station, KPIX in San Francisco, planned in 1994 to still broadcast CBS This Morning, but from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. PST as the lead-in to its morning program.

Smith and Zahn left the program on June 14, 1996, with various CBS News correspondents Harold Dow, Erin Moriarty, John Roberts, Russ Mitchell, Hattie Kauffman, Mark McEwen and Jane Robelot anchoring CBS This Morning for seven weeks until a new format was in place. In August 1996, the program was revamped again, as simply This Morning, with Mark McEwen and Jane Robelot as co-hosts, news anchor José Díaz-Balart (succeeded by Cynthia Bowers, then Thalia Assuras, and finally Julie Chen) and Craig Allen (of WCBS-TV and WCBS-AM in New York City) serving as weather anchor.

A new format allowed local stations to air their own newscasts from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. local time, interspersed with inserts from the national broadcast; the second hour of the national broadcast would then air uninterrupted from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Ratings went up slightly, and at one point in 1998 the program even moved ahead of Good Morning America. But its ratings success was also brief, and CBS announced its decision to cancel the program in early 1999. Robelot left This Morning in June 1999 after it was revealed that the program would be replaced. Assuras served as co-anchor and Chen as newsreader for the show's remaining five months. McEwen left the show at the end of September 1999 to prepare for the launch of The Early Show and was replaced by Russ Mitchell, who formerly conducted sports segments.

This Morning ended on October 29, 1999 after twelve years. It was replaced by The Early Show, which debuted the following Monday, November 1. Though it had occasional peaks in the ratings, The Early Show was a perennial third-place finisher behind NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. In its last year, The Early Show shied away from the news, features, light stories and "infotainment" approach used by the program since its debut, that it based on the formats of its two main competitors.

Homeland Security Jeh Johnson participates in an interview in 2016

On November 15, 2011, CBS News announced that The Early Show would be cancelled, and that the news division would overhaul its morning news program effective January 9, 2012. The news division's chairman Jeff Fager and president David Rhodes revealed at the official announcement that day that the revamped and retitled program would "redefine the morning television landscape" – meaning that rather than replicate the relaxed lifestyle-driven styles of Today and Good Morning America, the new format would feature a mix of "hard news" (a CBS News hallmark), analysis and discussion.[1] On December 1, 2011, the title of the new show was revealed as CBS This Morning,[4][5] marking a return of the name to the morning newscast since 1999.

The founding executive producer of CBS This Morning was Chris Licht, who was hired by CBS in the spring of 2011 after serving as executive producer of MSNBC's morning news-discussion program Morning Joe. Licht's move to CBS led to speculation that Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski would follow Licht to CBS, as their contracts with MSNBC were set to expire;[6] though Scarborough and Brzezinski confirmed contemplating offers from CBS and other networks, they signed a new contract with MSNBC out of a belief that their interview-intensive approach could not be duplicated on broadcast television.[7]

CBS instead tapped a trio of noted television veterans for the weekday edition of CBS This Morning: The Early Show holdover Erica Hill, Gayle King and Charlie Rose. Licht described Rose, who had previously hosted CBS's former overnight news program CBS News Nightwatch (which was replaced by Up to the Minute and later CBS Overnight News) in the 1980s, and had also served as a part-time correspondent for occasional segments since 2008 on the long-running newsmagazine 60 Minutes, as "an incredible interviewer".[8][9]

Licht promised an "outside the box" approach to CBS This Morning, insisting that the show would not include forced anchor banter, cooking segments, "comedic weather forecasters, [or] cheering fans on an outdoor plaza."[9][10][11]

Logo used from 2012 to 2015

Charlie Rose interviewing President Barack Obama in 2013

On July 26, 2012, CBS announced that its Chief White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell would replace Hill starting in September 2012. Hill was pulled from the program immediately after the announcement (an absence which was not explained on the broadcast),[12] and was eventually released from her CBS contract (Hill joined NBC in November 2012, becoming a co-host of weekend editions of Today).

On November 20, 2017, Rose was fired by CBS following a report in The Washington Post in which eight women accused him of sexual harassment.[13] King and O'Donnell addressed the issue on the show.[14] In January 2018, it was announced that John Dickerson (moderator of Face the Nation) would join the program as the third co-anchor.[15] On October 3, 2018, it was announced that correspondent Bianna Golodryga would be joining the show as the fourth co-host.[16] However, six months later, in April 2019, Golodryga chose to leave CBS News.[17]

On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Dickerson and O'Donnell would leave CBS This Morning, with Dickerson moving to 60 Minutes and O'Donnell to CBS Evening News. Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil were named as successors, and made their debuts on May 20, 2019, alongside King.[18] O'Donnell's last day on the show was May 16, 2019, followed by Dickerson on May 17, 2019.

CBS announced several planned changes to the program in 2021, including a move to a new studio at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, and a new co-host in Nate Burleson with Mason moving to a role as reporter on culture.[19][20] On August 31, the network announced that CBS This Morning would instead be succeeded by a new program, CBS Mornings, starting September 7.[3] The transition was complete on September 18, 2021 when CBS This Morning Saturday was rebranded as CBS Saturday Morning.

True to Licht's "no comedic weather" promise, the show did not include any standalone national weather segments[21] – this made CBS This Morning the only national morning news program on any of the "Big Three" networks not to include such a segment, although time was allotted for CBS affiliates to insert their own local weather forecasts (with national maps and forecasts or a text-only list of forecasts for individual cities nationwide provided for affiliates that do not insert their own weather updates, particularly those that do not have a news department).

However, the program would use local meteorologists from CBS stations to provide the forecast during major severe weather events (such as hurricanes, wildfires, and blizzards). Lonnie Quinn (former meteorologist for the program's Saturday edition) of flagship New York City O&O WCBS-TV - appears weekdays (as needed), and Jeff Berardelli, CBS News Weather and Climate Specialist, works the Saturday edition (when necessary).

For stations that do not make use of the local news cutaways at :26 and :56 past the hour (including CBS affiliates that do not have a news department), the program used a taped story introduced by that day's CBS Morning News anchor during that time; previously it contained a happy talk segment between the anchors and panelists. This was similar to what was done during the 1981-87 run of the CBS Morning News.

For the Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zones (along with most of Arizona during daylight saving time), an updated version of the broadcast incorporated an additional greeting to those viewers ("Good morning to our viewers in the West! and "As you are waking up in the West..."), along with updated reports previously denoted by the reporter specifically acknowledging the viewers in that part of the country (e.g., "Good morning and Good morning to our viewers watching us in the West") and if occurring, reports on major swings, high or low, involving the stock market, with the time and temperature bug also incorporating a real-time Dow Jones/NASDAQ tracker.

CBS This Morning operates out of a set in Studio 57 at the CBS Broadcast Center (numbered for the street address in Manhattan, West 57th Street). The new set was originally planned for use by The Early Show before its cancellation; that program was based out of the windowed General Motors Building during its entire run, which was shared with the network's NFL pre-game show The NFL Today at times, though during the final year of The Early Show the windows were covered at all times due to the change to a hard-news focus.[23] A section of the studio's exterior, covered in white walls and adorned with the CBS Eye logo (and also bearing the message shown at right), was featured in promos for the show that began airing in early December 2011.[24] CBS Evening News has shared Studio 57 with CBS This Morning since December 2016, when the former program moved from its longtime home at Studio 47.[25]

Bits and pieces of the CBS This Morning set were revealed in promos and web videos released prior to the program's debut,[24] with the full set unveiled during the January 2012 premiere. Some of the set's features include:[11]

• Real exposed brick walls and dark hardwood flooring
• An in-the-round anchor desk, topped in clear lucite and etched with the famous "Eyemark", as well as additional "prong" sections which can be removed if necessary
• Moveable monitors, allowing guests who appear via satellite to "sit" alongside their interviewers at the anchor desk
• Various items representing CBS News's legacy (most prominently a world map from the venerated Walter Cronkite tenure of the CBS Evening News)
• An adjoining newsroom (which was not ready in time for the premiere), complete with large windows facing the street (allowing passers-by to look in)
• A visible green room (complete with the only couch on the set), allowing viewers to catch a glimpse of behind-the-scenes action

Also included on the set, as reported by TV Guide reporter Stephen Battaglio, is an Oakland Athletics baseball cap; executive producer Chris Licht included it to remind his staff of the sports film Moneyball, whose central character (team executive Billy Beane, played in the film by Brad Pitt) took an "outside-the-box" approach that Licht hopes CBS This Morning replicates (Licht has called the show "The Moneyball of TV" – a take-off on the methodology featured in the 2011 film – and screened the film prior to the premiere for CBS This Morning staff as a motivational tool).[9]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and the associated closure of the CBS Broadcast Center on March 11, 2020, CBS This Morning was briefly re-located to the Washington, D.C. studio of the CBS Evening News for two editions. After the facility was closed once more on March 18, the program began broadcasting from the Ed Sullivan Theater on the set of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (where Licht now serves as producer),[26][27][28][29] before switching to a remote work format.[30] On June 22, CBS This Morning returned to Studio 57 with a reduced crew.[31]

• Gayle King
• Tony Dokoupil
• Anthony Mason

• Harry Smith – anchor (1987–1996) (now at NBC News)
• Kathleen Sullivan – anchor (1987–1990) (later at E!)
• Paula Zahn – anchor (1990–1996) (later at Fox News Channel and CNN; now at Investigation Discovery)
• Harold Dow – interim anchor (1996) (deceased)
• Erin Moriarty – interim anchor (1996)
• John Roberts – interim anchor (1996)
• Hattie Kauffman – interim anchor (1996)
• Mark McEwen – anchor (1996–1999; previous worked as weather and entertainment reporter from 1987 to 1996)
• Jane Robelot – anchor (1996–1999) (later at WGCL-TV; now at WYFF-TV)
• Thalia Assuras – anchor (1999; previously worked as newsreader from 1996 to 1999)
• Russ Mitchell – anchor (1999; previously worked as sports reporter) (now at WKYC)
• Erica Hill – co-host (January–July 2012; later at NBC News; now at CNN)
• John Miller – senior correspondent (resigned from CBS in 2014 to take a position with the New York Police Department)
• Charlie Rose – co-host (2012–2017; fired by CBS and PBS after sexual misconduct allegations revealed by The Washington Post)
• Norah O'Donnell – co host (September 2012–May 2019) (currently on CBS Evening News)
• Bianna Golodryga – co-host (October 2018–April 2019) (now a contributor on CNN)
• John Dickerson – co-host (2018–2019) (currently on 60 Minutes)

• David Begnaud – Lead National Correspondent[35]
• Jericka Duncan – National Correspondent[35]
• Vladimir Duthiers – "What to Watch"[35]

Upon the show's launch, CBS executives said that they expected it would take years for a ratings turnaround in the morning time period.[40] The program debuted to an average of 2.72 million viewers (1.11 million in the key demographic of adults 25 to 54 years old) in its first week; its total viewership was 10% lower than The Early Show's during the same week in the previous year.[40] As of August 2015, CBS This Morning continued to show the most growth, up to 12 percent in viewers and up to 14 percent in the A25-54 demo vs. the same week in 2014, with 3.196 million viewers.[41]

In November 2016, CBS This Morning came within striking distance of Today and scored the best November sweeps month for a CBS morning show in 23 years, averaging 2.8 million viewers - only 800,000 viewers behind "Today".[42]