Zirinsky, who became CBS News president in a shakeup last fall, created five three-ring binders full of notes to figure out how to get CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News out of third place. “What I did was, when someone sent me an idea, I categorized it, I booked it,” she said. “I took the ideas I liked the most and created a massive bible. It was so long that I had to put a table of contents in it.” She added: “I am obsessive-compulsive. But I am a collaborative person.” Zirinsky said that Gayle King, who will stay at CBS This Morning, brings qualities to CBS News that it didn't have in its golden age. “Gayle has evolved as someone we’ve not ever had at CBS in that vein,” said Zirinsky, who joined CBS News during that golden age in 1972. “Sure, we’ve had the Mike Wallaces and the Ed Bradleys, but Gayle has this humanity, relatability, this curiosity. She’s smart, and people trust her.” Zirinsky also praised newly named CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell, calling her "a game-changer." Zirinsky even presented O’Donnell with a gift as part of her announcement: the Hermes Rocket manual typewriter she used when she worked at CBS News' Washington bureau in the early 1970s. Zirinsky said thanks to the CBS News shakeup, "now we can put teams together and build armies and really become battle ready."
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TOPICS: Susan Zirinsky, CBS, CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings, Gayle King, Jeff Glor, Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, Daytime TV, TV Salaries