“CBS Saturday Morning” co-hosts Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller signed off in tears after seven years on the program, while the network’s anxious staff remained confused about who would replace them.
“After seven long years of welcoming you to the weekend, our time here is coming to an end,” Miller said Saturday, holding Jacobson’s hand as the pair addressed the audience for the last time.
Jacobson said that “Although it wasn’t our choice to leave, we had a way to say goodbye that also included a chance to say thank you to the amazing producers, photographers, audio engineers, editors, makeup and hair stylists, assistants and floor crew and wardrobe – everyone who is a part of every story we tell.
“Without them, there is no us.”
The goodbye comes during a turbulent time inside CBS News, where recently installed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is on a mission to bring change to the network.
Inside the studio, both anchors used their final minutes to highlight their colleagues, the space the show has given them, and the viewers who made the early morning hard work worthwhile.
Jacobson, who previously logged a decade at ESPN, became emotional when describing what the program offered him professionally.
She said, “What a gift this show was. I got to travel around the world and be a storyteller again, doing the thing I love most: interviews, talking and learning about people, then bringing their stories and experiences to you.”
What impressed him most, he said, were the everyday interactions with the audience.
“At the airport, at the gym, at a Celtics game or while I was walking (my dog) Barkley, so many of you stopped me to share your love of Saturday Morning, how much you appreciated the escape and the knowledge we provided,” Jacobson said.
“Thank you for making me feel that what I do matters – what we do matters.”
Miller, who joined CBS after arriving in New York City with, as she put it, “no job, no prospects, just a serious reporter with a network of colleagues who took a chance on me,” used her departure to emphasize the show’s journalism.
“Satmo gave us the time to elevate important stories from all vantage points and tell them in their entirety,” he said.
He framed his departure as part of a longer professional arc.
“Every story I’ve told has reminded me that change is not the end; it is a growth, and I might add, a chance to gain a brighter sense of belonging.”
The two closed their show by clinking champagne glasses and giving final shout-outs to executive producer Brian Applegate, senior broadcast producer Tony DePolver and former co-anchor Anthony Mason.
As The Post reported last week, Miller, Jacobson and Applegate were ousted as part of the first round of downsizing under Weiss and network president Tom Sibrowski.
Those departures caught employees by surprise – and left them with no clear sense of what would happen next.
“CBS Saturday Morning” will continue to air, but CBS News has still not been told who will replace the hosts or what the new format will look like.
Sources previously told The Post that the lack of communication has created panic inside the newsroom.
According to a CBS insider, confusion is “par for the course”.
“This is a network that has no plan,” the person said.
A source close to the situation insisted that a plan is in place, but said it would be disclosed at a later date.
Another source told The Post that the anchor will leave at the end of this week and correspondent Adriana Diaz will take over on Nov. 29.
Sources said Diaz was approached about anchoring the show full-time, but expressed no interest.
Names surfaced internally include Elaine Quijano, Errol Barnett, Kelly O’Grady and Jerrica Duncan – but nothing has been finalized.
For now, the Saturday broadcast will likely be conducted by a rotating cast of fill-ins.
The post seeks comment from CBS News.
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