Culture 3 min read By Lauren Baxter
Mary Hager, CBS News political executive, to retire in January
Mary Hager, the longtime CBS News politics executive and senior executive producer of "Face the Nation," will retire from the network in January, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Mary Hager, one of the most recognizable behind-the-scenes figures in CBS News political coverage, is retiring from the network in January. Two people familiar with the matter said she informed colleagues of her decision on a Wednesday, and that the timing was chosen to give Skydance, which now owns CBS, time to plan for a successor.
Hager has served as senior executive producer of "Face the Nation," the network's Sunday public-affairs program, and as CBS News executive editor of politics. She led the long-running broadcast for about 15 years and had previously worked as its executive producer. In those roles she sat at the center of the network's political reporting and its weekly interviews with lawmakers, candidates and officials, shaping which guests appeared and how the program approached the week's major political questions.
Her departure marks the end of a career at CBS that spans roughly 35 years. Over that time she became a familiar presence in newsroom discussions of how the network covers Washington, and her exit is one of the more notable personnel changes at CBS News since the company's ownership changed hands. The timing, with the January exit set well ahead of the change, reflects the network's effort to manage the transition in an orderly way rather than abruptly.
The reporting does not name a successor for "Face the Nation," and the people who spoke to reporters did not describe the full reasons behind her decision to leave. Nor do the available details say how the network plans to reorganize its political unit once she departs. Those questions had not been answered publicly at the time of the report, and they are likely to draw attention from viewers and industry observers as the transition approaches.
For a program that has long been a fixture of Sunday television political talk, leadership continuity matters to both staff and audience. Hager's tenure at the helm covered a period in which the broadcast competed with other Sunday public-affairs shows for guests and viewers, and her departure will test how the network replaces an executive whose name has been closely tied to the program for well over a decade.
Source: variety.com
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