CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon resigns: ‘The company and I do not agree on the path forward’

CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon announced Monday that she is stepping down, citing differences with the leadership of parent company Paramount.

"It has been a privilege and joy," McMahon wrote in an internal message picked up by Deadline. "The past few months have been challenging," acknowledged the woman who also headed other stations (lumped under the CBS News and Stations umbrella) and the distributor CBS Media Ventures.

She also assured that it had "become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward." Although she did not go into details, the board backed producer Bill Owens when he resigned from 60 Minutes saying he had lost the freedom to act independently.

His tenure went through several turbulences, including a suit by Donald Trump against the post-production of an interview with then-Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, controversies over its coverage of the war in Gaza and ratings drops.

Senior Paramount executives had made it clear they wanted to step aside, according to unnamed sources consulted by The New York Times. Another, in conversation with The New York Post, argued that his departure meant that "mediation must be moving quickly and a deal will be" reached.

Paramount's majority shareholder, Shari Redstone, favored reaching a settlement. She is also awaiting management approval to merge her company with Skydance. According to the Post, she had also backed McMahon's removal.