Like any family reunion, the gathering inside CBS News on Monday had joys and tensions alike.

Veterans like Bob Schieffer looked on as the news division’s first female president, Susan Zirinsky, stepped onto a makeshift stage for an announcement that would signal a new era for the network. Gayle King would be the centerpiece of “CBS This Morning.” Norah O’Donnell was the next anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” only the second woman to hold that role.

Ms. Zirinsky pitched the changes as a fresh start after a painful period for the House of Cronkite, whose hidebound culture had been rocked by declining ratings and workplace misconduct scandals involving Jeff Fager, the longtime leader of “60 Minutes,” and Charlie Rose, the former co-anchor of “CBS This Morning.”

As part of the ceremony, Ms. Zirinsky presented Ms. O’Donnell with a gift: the Hermes Rocket manual typewriter Ms. Zirinsky used when she worked at the network’s Washington bureau.

Absent from the scene was Jeff Glor, the current “CBS Evening News” anchor, whose 18-month tenure will soon end. The show’s ratings are lower than they were when he started. As Ms. Zirinsky addressed her staff, Mr. Glor was flying back from a weekend shoot at the Grand Canyon.