Josh Elliott was dramatically fired from CBS News on Monday after a bizarre series of events when he stepped down from CBS’ digital channel for a larger role at the network — shocking his own bosses.
Elliott, who had served as CBSN’s lead daytime anchor for a year, bid an emotional farewell to viewers Friday, saying it was to be his “last day.” “It has been by any measure a great stay here at CBSN,” he added.
It was surprising news — not least to CBS News execs, who had no idea he was announcing his plan to leave the online station. “This is a mess of epic proportions,” said a network source. “Nobody at the top at CBS News knew that Josh was going to do that.”
It seems Elliott — who joined the network from NBC in 2016 — had recently met with Laurie Orlando, the network’s head of talent, who told him she wanted him to take on a bigger role at CBS News. “Then Josh announced his departure without warning,” said the insider. “Executives at CBS were stunned.”
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