'Not a great sign': Worry mounts as big-name CBS News journalist announces exit

Surprised reactions flooded in on Monday after CBS Evening News co-anchor John Dickerson announced he was leaving the network, with one observer saying the veteran journalist's move was "not a good sign."

Dickerson, who joined CBS 16 years ago, made the announcement as the company leadership shifts and "significant changes" are signaled ahead for the broadcast news division, The New York Times reports.

He said in a statement: "At the end of this year, I will leave CBS, sixteen years after I sat in as Face the Nation anchor for the first time. I am extremely grateful for all that CBS gave me — the work, the audience’s attention and the honor of being a part of the network’s history — and I am grateful for the dear colleagues who’ve made me a better journalist and a better human. I will miss you."

Social media users responded to the news.

"It'll be really interesting to see if John Dickerson is leaving CBS News voluntarily or if he was pushed out," Gizmodo reporter Matt Novak wrote on Bluesky.

"Dickerson is one of the best broadcast journalists in the game, and someone who would clearly be a real asset to a new leader interested in strengthening the network's journalism. But, of course, we know [Bari] Weiss isn't actually interested in journalism as such," New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote on Bluesky.

"John Dickerson being pushed out (or finding it intolerable to stay) at CBS News is all you need to know about where the network is headed," Clara Jeffery, editor in chief of Mother Jones/Center for Investigative Reporting/Reveal, wrote on Bluesky.

"John Dickerson is one of the best journalists of his generatrion [SIC], so of course he's leaving CBS News," lawyer and writer David Lurie wrote on Bluesky.

"John Dickerson announces he’ll be leaving CBS at the end of the year. Not a great sign for the network," writer Charlotte Clymer wrote on Bluesky.