CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer executive producer Jay Shaylor officially joined CBS News today as the new executive producer for The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.
Shaylor takes the reins of the legacy newscast from CBS News evp of news Kim Godwin, who had been at the helm since O’Donnell began anchoring on a permanent basis back in July.
According to CBS News president and senior ep Susan Zirinsky, Shaylor will be stationed at CBS News headquarters in New York beginning Wednesday, until the broadcast officially makes the move to D.C. later this year.
Shaylor endeavors to breath some ratings life into a newscast that is down season to-date in multiple measurements (though to be fair, ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News are seeing season to-date declines as well).
Before joining CNN in 2013, Shaylor was senior producer of Good Morning America, overseeing editorial content and production of the broadcast during the evening and overnight hours.
In 2012, he was part of the senior team responsible for moving GMA into the No. 1 spot in total viewers. He also served as one of Diane Sawyer’s anchor producers, and was the morning show’s primary producer in the field during breaking news.
Here’s the memo Zirinsky sent to news division staff earlier this afternoon regarding Shaylor:
Monday 21 October 2019
Today, we welcome Jay Shaylor to CBS News as the new Executive Producer for the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.” Jay comes to us from CNN where he was the Executive Producer of “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” He was previously a senior producer at ABC News and even spent time on-air as a local reporter. Jay has long been a fan of the unique storytelling and investigative reporting that distinguishes CBS News and he is passionate about bringing the strength of all facets of our news organization to the evening news each night.
Jay transitioning with Kim Godwin will last as long as it needs to. His days will involve a lot of listening and observing the work and workflow on a daily basis. There will be plenty of meetings as he gets to know the place. Jay will also do a bureau tour – the timing of that has not yet been locked. Please know that he is scheduled to be in DC tomorrow and then back to NYC on Wednesday for the rest of the week. Jay will be in NY until the broadcast makes the move to D.C. There will be plenty of time for everyone to meet him.
The program launched with precision and grace under the leadership of Kim, who worked with everyone throughout the organization to seamlessly give lift off to this show. We are now watching a broadcast that is defining the news conversation more than before, telling stories that matter and shining a light on topics and issues like the hidden cost of health care that are complex, vitally important and impact so many of our viewers. I want to thank Kim and the entire senior “Evening News” team – along with the correspondents, producers, and all the support staff domestically and overseas. The work was hard – the news cycle brutal so thank you for making us so proud over the last few months.
The move to DC is something that will distinguish the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.” We know television is a team sport and Jay and Norah are fortunate to have such a fantastic team working to elevate the “Evening News” to the next level.
Z
