CBS News head Neeraj Khemlani reportedly stepping aside

CBS News chief Neeraj Khemlani shared that he’s stepping down from his current role to pursue other ventures with the broadcasting company. 

In a staff memo obtained by media outlet Variety, Khemlani told staffers that he plans on pursuing a new multi-year deal with CBS that will have him focus on developing content including books for Simon & Schuster, documentaries and scripted series. 

Khemlani joined CBS News in 2021 after a previous stint as a senior executive at Hearst Communications. Khemlani’s tenure as CEO saw the hiring of high-profile journalists such as Cecilia Vega, Natiale Morales, and Robert Costa, the revamping of the division’s morning news program, CBS Mornings, and bolstering the division’s investigate unit. 

“We maintained the #1 position of our iconic weekend programs, successfully developed and launched business plans to grow digital revenue that will sustain CBS News for the next generation, and elevated and promoted so many of the people who work here day after day to deliver on our journalistic mission,” Khemlani told staffers in a memo sent on Sunday. 

“I’m so proud of what all of you have accomplished — the scores of journalistic wins, the superb storytelling, the creativity that enhanced every aspect of our programming — that has put this division on a stronger path forward.” He said he was “looking forward to slipping my reporter’s notebook back into my pocket and heading out on a new adventure.”

Khemlani’s departure is the latest in a series of departures by top television executives in the past months, according to Variety. Chris Licht, a former CBS News executive, stepped down from his role as CEO of CNN in June after a tumultuous tenure with the cable news giant. 

Noah Oppenheim, who has been the president of NBC News for a six-year stint, stepped down from his position earlier this year as NBC Universal reorganized their newsroom. 

The Hill has reached out to CBS News for comment and more information.