CBS Evening News producer takes buyout, calls out "ideological expectations" at network

Last month, Bari Weiss offered buyouts to CBS Evening News staffers who weren’t on board with her vision for the formerly lauded institution. That is, doing the fucking news and producing a product that people want, like scoops of ideas and scoops of explanation. At least one person—Evening News producer Alicia Hastey—took the buyout and, on her way out, offered one last scoop of ideas, or perhaps of explanation. 

“I am proud of the work that’s been done in my time here: segments that aimed to foreground underrepresented perspectives, interviews that challenged conventional wisdom, and efforts to make our journalism more responsive to a skeptical public,” writes Hastey in a farewell note, obtained by New York Times reporter Ben Mullin and shared on Bluesky. However, Hastey goes on to write that “shifting set of ideological expectations” has left telling the stories she once valued “increasingly… impossible.” 

On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that about a quarter of the Evening News‘ eligible staff was opting for the buyout (which the outlet reports was only offered to non-unionized employees). This reportedly includes about six of the roughly 20 producers on the show, who chose to leave now rather than be subject to what are expected to be wide-ranging layoffs in March.

You can read Hastey’s full statement below: 

It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am taking a buy out and today was my last day in the Broadcast Center. 

I joined the network four years ago with gratitude and optimism and I want to leave you with these thoughts only as a reminder of things I know you already know. 

I am proud of the work that’s been done in my time here: segments that aimed to foreground underrepresented perspectives, interviews that challenged conventional wisdom, and efforts to make our journalism more responsive to a skeptical public. 

Janet Shaman and I met a widow paying off her farm debt with wind turbines on her land. Major Garrett and I met voters in Metter, Georgia who disagreed politically but did so with respect and dignity for their small-town neighbors. James Brown and I have spotlighted numerous communities buoyed by love, kindness, and care for humanity. 

But, there has been a sweeping new vision prioritizing a break from traditional broadcast norms to embrace what has been described as “heterodox” journalism. The trust is that commitment to those people and the stories they have to tell is increasingly becoming impossible. Stories may instead be evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures producers and reporters to self-censor to avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines. 

None of this detracts from the talent of the journalists who remain at CBS news. You all produce thoughtful and important work, even under difficult circumstances. That is precisely what makes this moment so heartbreaking: the very excellence we seek to sustain is hindered by fear and uncertainty. 

Walter Cronkite once said in response to critics: “If that is what makes us liberals, so be it, just as long as in reporting the news we adhere to the first ideals of good journalism — that news reports must be fair, accurate, and unbiased.” 

Cronkites idea is one of the best I’ve encountered. He understood that labels are inevitable, but standards are what matter. What defines journalism is not what critics call it, but whether it remains faithful to those principles. 

I’ve always taken comfort in the belief that if we hold fast to those first ideals, trust follows. But those ideals cannot stand on their own. They require vigilance. They require courage. 

I know that you all will continue to show that courage — offering news, guidance and respect to the millions who come to us every night. Don’t let anyone diminish the incredible impact you can and do have. 

Please stay in touch

Alicia Hastey