July 2024

Veteran global news executive Ross Dagan is executive vice president and head of news operations and transformation for CBS News and Stations.

In this senior leadership role, Dagan oversees all the news operations, engineering and technology functions across CBS News and Stations, reporting to Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures.

At CBS News and Stations, Dagan is tasked with innovation and transformation across the division. Since being named to the position, Dagan has led the division’s Super Desk initiative, which has the entire newsgathering operation collaborating on one system, creating a new way to marshal reporting resources and information across network and local teams. As part of that work, Dagan also helped create a centralized coverage team to coordinate how CBS News and Stations gathers news and subsequently embraces story-centric thinking.

Dagan has also been integral to the development and launch of CBS News Confirmed, a new initiative that brings together a team of highly experienced journalists who use traditional skills, data and technology to verify and fact-check videos and information while explaining CBS News’ verification process. The CBS News Confirmed investment includes adding forensic journalists, new training, state-of-the-art technology and other tools, all focused on ensuring that CBS News and Stations teams can combat misinformation and ensure the accuracy of their reporting.

Dagan joined CBS News and Stations in 2021 after having most recently served as network director of news content at Network 10, the Paramount-owned network based in Sydney, Australia, since 2018. While there, he oversaw major editorial and operational changes, positioning the network to optimize workflows and evolve technology to improve processes.

A veteran of more than 30 years as a journalist and news executive, Dagan had previously been the network’s director of news, based in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, where he had day-to-day responsibility for the network’s news programming in those markets from 2007-2012.

Dagan’s background also includes a combined five years with Al Jazeera English, the first English-language international news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. He most recently served as executive producer from 2015-2018. During that time, he was instrumental in the evolution of how editorial content was produced, presented and shared across platforms, launching the first new news programming in a decade. From 2006-2008, he served as program editor of Al Jazeera English, as a senior member of the leadership team in Kuala Lumpur for the launch of the network.

Dagan has also served two stints with the Seven Network in Australia, including as director of news, based in Brisbane, from 2013-2015, and director of news for Seven Queensland from 2001-2005.

His background includes working for Television New Zealand (TVNZ) as head of news and current affairs and Maori and Pacific programs, based in Auckland, from 2012-2013.

Dagan earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern Queensland, and received his MBA from the Queensland University of Technology.

Dagan is based in New York with his wife, Michelle.