Neeraj Khemlani stepping down as Co-President of CBS News and Stations

CBS News and Stations co-president Neeraj Khemlani is stepping down from his post, though he will continue his ties with the network.

Khemlani announced his departure in an Aug. 13, 2023, memo sent to staffers on a Sunday.

In 2021, Khemlani and Wendy McMahon were named co-presidents of a division newly rebranded as CBS News and Stations, which was previously charged with overseeing the various stations owned and operated by the network across the country. In this new structure, CBS opted not only to create the unique co-president model but also merge the management of its network news division with its local TV stations.

The bulk of the programming produced by CBS-owned stations is news-focused and the network also had been hard at work building up a sister news streamer in each of its markets.

The revamped structure was largely seen as a way to emphasize how CBS News’ network newsroom, which also runs the CBS News Streaming Network branded as “CBS News,” could work in partnership with its local stations.

In the same announcement, Khemlani revealed he had signed a “multi-year, multi-platform first-look deal with CBS to develop content” including “documentaries, scripted series and books for Simon & Schuster.”

CBS did not immediately announce plans for a new management team, nor was it clear if the co-president model would continue to be used or if one person would take over all of these responsibilities.

Khemlani and McMahon replaced Susan Zirinsky, a longtime CBS News employee who was named to the post in 2019. Zirinsky also departed her executive role for a production deal.

Under Khemlani, CBS News and Stations completed a transition to a shared graphics package at its local stations, which also included key rebranding strategies in select markets. It also moved to a group graphics team model. The local looks brought stations in-line with the network-level design that had been rolling out since 2020.

His tenure also included launching a local news operation in Detroit, where CBS-owned WWJ had not aired significant local news content since 2002. NewscastStudio