CBS News and Stations is introducing a new editorial leadership structure, with Adrienne Roark and Jennifer Mitchell taking on expanded roles in the local-to-global news organization. Several other experienced CBS News and Stations leaders are also taking on key roles and additional responsibilities, joining the current senior editorial leadership team.
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we write the future of CBS News and Stations. Our journalists and team members across the division are working more collaboratively and efficiently to create impact across all of our shows and streams,” said Wendy McMahonPresident and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures. “I have great confidence in the team we are assembling, starting with Adrienne and Jennifer, who are tremendous partners and inspiring, ambitious and empathetic leaders. This structure is designed to support and build our next-generation news organization. Working with our talented teams in every newsroom, each of these leaders will elevate our reporting and better position us for the future.”
CBS News
Adrienne Roark becomes President of Editorial and Newsgathering for CBS News and Stations, leading the unified organization’s field and newsroom teams to drive daily news reporting. In this role, she will oversee correspondents, assignment offices, bureaus, booking teams, standards and practices, the Super Desk central newsgathering and storytelling platform, and CBS News Radio. She will continue to lead the CBS Local News Innovation Lab in Dallas-Fort Worth, the Centers of Excellence she built around data journalism, weather and specialty beats/units, and WCBS and WLNY in New York, as well as WBZ and WSBK in Boston.
Roark will assume responsibilities previously held by Ingrid Ciprián-Matthewswho last week transitioned from president of CBS News to a new role as senior editorial advisor for political coverage through the November elections.
Jennifer Mitchell, who becomes president of Stations and Digital for CBS News and Stations, will assume primary responsibility for CBS Stations and the division’s local and national digital properties. She will oversee 23 of CBS’s 27 stations, expanding her portfolio to seven stations in the East that were led by Roark.
In addition to leading CBS’s major stations along the East Coast for the past three years, Roark has led newsrooms in major markets across the country over the course of her career. She has led several recent cross-divisional initiatives for CBS News and Stations, including Eye on America and a national community journalism movement. She has also led and supported coverage of major stories, including the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Mitchell has led innovation across CBS News and Stations’ newsrooms and digital platforms, playing a key role in conceptualizing and bringing to life CBS NEWS 24/7the flagship show for CBS News’ national stream of the same name. She has played a major role in the growth of CBS Stations’ local streams, as they have collectively climbed from fourth to first place, ahead of their same-market competitors.
Roark and Mitchell will continue to report to McMahon and share responsibility for overseeing content for the division’s local and national streaming channels. McMahon will oversee all broadcasts of the CBS News network and work directly with the executive producers of those shows to continue to maximize the organization’s brands and editorial capabilities across all screens and platforms.
“Together, we continue to build and remain laser-focused on our content, communities and culture,” Mitchell said in an email to staff. “Much has changed at an unprecedented rate; however, our industry is evolving rapidly and we must keep pace. What remains is our steadfast commitment to overall excellence.” Mitchell, who has more than 20 years of experience leading a multi-platform newsroom, joined the network in 2021 as president of CBS Stations.
Roark said, “My commitment to you is to uphold the legacy of CBS News and Stations and continue to work together as one as we build a next-generation organization for the future.” Roark began her career at CBS and returned in 2021 as president of CBS Stations after leading newsrooms in major markets. In 2023, she was named president of Content Development and Integration for CBS News, Stations and Media Ventures.
As part of today’s announcement, McMahon also announced that Alvin Patrick will take on a new role. In addition to continuing to serve as executive producer of the CBS News Race and Culture Unit, Patrick’s responsibility for overseeing original long-form programming for CBS News’ digital and streaming properties, including CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+, will be expanded to include specials and documentaries for platforms across CBS News, Stations and Media Ventures. He is the founder and executive producer of the Race and Culture Unit, which was established in 2020. He will report to McMahon.
Roark announced that CBS News and Stations’ daily newsgathering editorial operations will be led by longtime CBS News president Terri Stewart, who is taking on expanded responsibilities as senior vice president of newsgathering, and Wendy Fisher, who has been named senior vice president of editorial. Stewart will continue to lead the network’s newsgathering operations, in addition to running the news hubs to support the new community journalism. She will also focus on developing a CBS News and Stations reporting desk. Fisher will focus on driving strategic, comprehensive reporting across the group, working closely with the Washington, foreign and domestic bureaus. She will continue to oversee weather reporting for CBS News and Stations. Both will report to Roark.
Additionally, David Reiter will take on an expanded role as senior vice president, CBS News 24/7 Special Events and Special Projects. He will continue to oversee all special events and projects for CBS News, including breaking news and coverage of special events such as Election Night, and will also lead the division’s streaming initiatives, including the development of expanded content offerings. Reiter will oversee the special events and streaming team in New York and report to Roark.
“Our journalism resonates and has impact in a rapidly changing news cycle that shows no signs of slowing down,” McMahon said in an email to staff. “As I’ve said before, the combination of our people and resources is a force multiplier. This structure and this group of people, working in partnership with every journalist, colleague and newsroom, will elevate our work as we create the next chapters for CBS News and Stations.”
