Norah O’Donnell’s teary-eyed ‘CBS This Morning’ farewell: ‘The best is yet to come’

Norah O’Donnell said farewell to “CBS This Morning” Thursday.

O’Donnell, 45, has been a co-anchor of the broadcast since 2012. She will join “CBS Evening News,” as the anchor and managing editor, replacing Jeff Glor. In addition, she will serve as lead anchor for political events and contribute to “60 Minutes.”

During her on-air departure, the morning show aired a video that included a montage of O’Donnell’s interviews – including snippets of chats with the Dalai Lama, Prince Harry and James Taylor – and warm wishes from her parents and kids.

“Can’t wait to have a before-school-breakfast,” her son Henry told her.

Fellow journalists like Anderson Cooper and Robin Roberts also shared kind words, as did the hosts of evening news programs for NBC and ABC, Lester Holt and David Muir, respectively.

The compilation moved O’Donnell to tears.

“The best is yet to come. I think that’s for all of us at CBS News,” she said.

Acknowledging her co-hosts, she added: “We’ve made news, we’ve been in the news, but we’ve also made friendships. This is the greatest team on television.”

Turning to the crew, she extended her appreciation. “You know how much I love all of you.”

“What you should know is we are cheering you on,” said Gayle King, who will remain on “This Morning” with new hosts Anthony Mason, a senior national correspondent and CBS veteran, and Tony Dokoupil.

Earlier this month, news broke that she and John Dickerson would be leaving the program as part of a series of sweeping changes at the network. Dickerson has been tapped for “60 Minutes” and will also have a role in election specials.

When the news was revealed on “This Morning,” O’Donnell said she would put all she had into her new position.

“I was looking through some things that Walter Cronkite said, and he said, ‘I can’t imagine a person becoming a success in life without giving everything they’ve got.’ And so I’m gonna give this everything I’ve got.”

O’Donnell will be only the third female solo anchor of a network evening newscast, following ABC’s Diane Sawyer and former CBS anchor Katie Couric,

The changes mark the first big moves by Susan Zirinsky, who became CBS News’ first female president in March. (A fourth “Morning” co-anchor, Bianna Golodryga, was relieved of her duties in April after a six-month stint and exercised an option to exit the network).

She is aiming to reverse the fortunes of CBS’ cellar-dwelling “Evening News” and “This Morning” telecasts, which for years have lagged behind NBC and ABC in a distant third place, even as CBS leads them in overall primetime audience. Ratings for both broadcasts have suffered in the wake of recent changes: Charlie Rose’s 2017 exit from “This Morning” in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, and the naming of Glor, also in 2017, to succeed Scott Pelley.

Contributing: Gary Levin