'Dream Hire': CBS News Eyes Conservative Firebrand Megyn Kelly as the New Face of the Network After $8Billion Takeover

As CBS continues to shed its left-leaning shows and programs, the news division has its eye on conservative firebrand Megyn Kelly, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The network is in the middle of major changes to its business structure after parent company Paramount's $8billion merger with Skydance media.

Insiders say CBS is going all-in for Kelly, hoping to make her the face of a bold new network makeover. Executives are reportedly offering the 54-year-old her own prime-time slot or throwing her into CBS Mornings to goose that show's struggling ratings.

"CBS wants her sharp edge and massive recognition factor," one network source told Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, who writes on Substack. "She’s the only one who could instantly give the network credibility with conservatives and the buzz it desperately needs."

Kelly, who was once a star on Fox News, has been off the air, focusing on her hit podcast and SiriusXM deal. Now the timing might be perfect for her small screen return.

"Megyn is their dream hire," one senior producer told Shuter. "She could lead political coverage across multiple shows and define the entire brand going into 2026."

While Kelly could be coming in, "woke" star Gayle King could be on her way out under the new regime.

As RadarOnline.com has reported, the 70-year-old anchor was charged with revitalizing the perennially underachieving CBS Mornings, which she promptly remade in her own image.

Meanwhile, stories became progressively more PC and entertainment-oriented.

As one TV insider put it: "Letting Gayle turn the show into her personal therapy hour was a fatal mistake. She brought in her people, her politics, her preachy tone – and the audience disappeared!"

The news division is bracing for more shakeups as President Tom Cibrowski moves to overhaul the Evening News broadcast.

As Radar previously reported, Cibrowski, a former ABC executive who joined CBS in March, is preparing to cut one of the broadcast’s two anchors, John Dickerson or Maurice DuBois.

At the same time, former anchor Norah O'Donnell is said to be plotting a major CBS comeback months after ditching her position behind the desk.

After stepping down as anchor in January, O'Donnell has remained at the network, working as a senior correspondent contributing to programs like 60 Minutes.

With the rest of the network in a shakeup, she reportedly wants more responsibilities. But a source told Shuter that's unlikely.

"She's living in a fantasy," the insider said. "The new Skydance bosses are cleaning house, and Norah is yesterday's news."

The decidedly conservative shift comes after President Donald Trump sued flagship news magazine 60 Minutes for $20billion, claiming it deceptively edited an interview with his election opponent Kamala Harris. CBS denied it had done anything to give an advantage to Harris, and released the full transcript of its interview.

When Trump took office for his second term, his Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, announced CBS would be investigated for the issue.

Trump has demanded a retraction and even suggested the networks' broadcast license be revoked before the merger.

Earlier this year, 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens abruptly resigned, saying he is no longer able to produce the show he wants.

"It has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience," he told staffers in a memo. "So, having defended this show – and what we stand for – from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward."