Gayle King could lose job amid CBS woes, Blue Origin space ‘debacle’

Gayle King s time as the host of CBS Mornings may soon come to an end amid a bloodbath at the system as its contends with brutal budget cuts a billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump and a looming billion merger involving parent company Paramount and Skydance Media Sources have advised both the New York Post and the Daily Mail that it will be formidable for King to justify her million annual salary given that CBS Mornings continues to struggle in the ratings behind NBC s In contemporary times and ABC s Good Morning America As previously informed by The Post King s annual compensation got cut last year from million when she signed a new one-year deal which is up in September With the structure in problem morale has plummeted on its evening and morning news shows Resentment also has grown towards King especially after she joined Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez in a heavily touted -minute ride aboard one of billionaire Jeff Bezos s Blue Origin space rockets the Daily Mail informed People don t want to say it out loud in the office but the entire space debacle really hurt us a staffer at Minutes narrated the Daily Mail Gayle being part of that is not a good look for our brand It s true that CBS Mornings coverage of the April space ride gave the show a rare first-place ratings finish But King s participation also became a source of disagreement over questions of whether the self-styled journalist had violated framework s own code of ethics by accepting a freebie from a billionaire who is trying to curry favor with Trump King Perry and Sanchez also were mocked for calling themselves astronauts and crew members as they claimed they were making a historic message about female empowerment because the passengers were all women King in particular was ridiculed for displaying celebrity cluelessness and hubris by insisting that the media call their ride a flight I really resent that people are calling it a ride King commented when confronted by a TMZ stated outside CBS s Manhattan studios the day after the Blue Origin spectacle King also bristled at the notion that the ride was a P R stunt She argued that it had an vital scientific component for the future of space exploration and likened it to the truly historic flight taken by original Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard who became the first American in space Like multiple in the masses others at CBS thought differently of the Blue Origin situation I think a lot of people resent Gayle for that I know I do the Minutes staffer commented There was a general sense of embarrassment a CBS producer communicated the Daily Mail I almost feel like apologizing when I tell people where I work I hate it here the producer also stated A former TV news reporter who once worked for her good friend Oprah Winfrey King started co-anchoring CBS Mornings in alongside Charlie Rose and Norah O Donnell But CBS is in upheaval for a great number of more reasons than King s Blue Origin spectacle Paramount is trying to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump against CBS News s legendary Minutes investigative news show Trump suggests that the show s interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in October was deceitfully edited to make her sound better The company has denied the claims and legal experts say Paramount could prevail in the lawsuit The Guardian disclosed But Paramount reportedly wants to settle the incident as it pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance More upheaval came Monday when CBS News boss Wendy McMahon stepped down from her job having voiced her opposition to Paramount setting the lawsuit as the New York Post broadcasted It s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward McMahon commented in a memo But McMahon also was faulted for her controversial efforts to overhaul the evening news while ratings for King s show remain abysmal the New York Post revealed With everything going on at CBS King s future is not the biggest priority even though she is one of the framework s marquee stars But the New York Post released that she must know it would be a miracle for her to figure another big one-year deal especially if Skydance is in charge For that reason King is exploring her options with another source telling the New York Post Gayle sees the writing on the wall