CBS News ousts top exec accused of blocking correspondent’s Hunter Biden laptop coverage

CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — who was accused of sidelining white journalists and blocking an acclaimed correspondent’s reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop — is stepping down at the network, the company said Wednesday.

The controversial news boss, who was named president just last August, is exiting after she made headlines in February over the firing of Catherine Herridge, a respected senior investigative reporter who had been doggedly covering the Hunter Biden laptop story for the network.

At the time, media insiders speculated that Herridge’s exit was linked to her reporting that President Biden may have kept evidence that he had foreign business dealings while in office.

Another reason, according to sources, may have been Herridge’s role in a 2021 human resources probe of Ciprian-Matthews over favoritism and discriminatory hiring and management practices.

As revealed by an investigation by The Post in January, Ciprian-Matthews had racked up HR complaints from staffers over unfair hiring and management practices, particularly against white female journalists. Among those who complained was Herridge, according to sources.

The shakeup comes during a tumultuous period for the network. CBS News parent company Paramount Global recently agreed to merge with Skydance, a deal which will enact a $2 billion cost-cutting blitz. Ahead of the deal, Paramount’s co-CEOs are poised to slash $500 million from the budget.

Still, one insider at the network said Ciprian-Matthews’ exit comes under the “guise of cuts,” after a series of public embarrassments over her dealings with Herridge came to light.

On Wednesday, CBS said Ciprian-Matthews will move to the role of senior adviser for coverage of the 2024 presidential election over the next several months before leaving the company.

“No journalist wants to ‘be’ the news, especially me,” Ciprian-Matthews said in a memo to staff obtained by The Post Wednesday. “But today, I have some news of my own to share. After much consideration, I’ve decided this is the right time to step away from my current role at CBS News and begin to write my next chapter.”

Ciprian-Matthews “will transition into this new role over the next few weeks, and we will share more updates soon,” said Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS’ news, stations and syndication operations, in a memo.

A new president of CBS News was not immediately named.

“The cost-cutting gave Wendy the opportunity to rid herself of Ingrid,” a source close to the network said, noting that aside from the HR issues, Ciprian-Matthews was an “impediment” to McMahon, who is trying to consolidate the news and stations divisions.

The Dominican-born exec, who had been rumored in recent months to be stepping down after the election, was the subject of a Post investigation in January over her allegedly “divisive” management and hiring practices.

This included telling Pamela Browne, a white, female journalist who applied to work at the network, that she would be easier to hire if she were a “different color.” Browne didn’t get the job.

In the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, CBS had seized Herridge’s personal files, which included her reporting for CBS and legal documents pertaining to a First Amendment case she has been ensnared in, and initially refused to return them.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing CBS News journalists, got wind of the action and slammed the network for the uncharacteristic move — a public black eye that sources said embarrassed CBS president George Cheeks and Ciprian-Matthews’ boss, McMahon.

The documents were returned, but the House Judiciary Committee launched a probe, calling for CBS to provide answers about why it held the documents, who handled them and whose decision it was to fire Herridge.

CBS returned the documents and provided an explanation in letter form without addressing all the committee’s inquiries.

The fiasco put a spotlight on Ciprian-Matthews, who was under the microscope since the flurry of news stories. Ciprian-Matthews is the third CBS News exec to cycle through the newsroom’s top job since 2021. She had been promoted when CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani was ousted after a short two-year run which was marred by a slew of HR complaints over bullying, as revealed by The Post.