Paramount CEO has pledged to crack down on ideological bias at CBS
CBS News parent company Paramount on Wednesday announced around 2,000 layoffs—including nearly 100 in the newsroom—and eliminated the outlet’s “Race and Culture” unit in an effort to crack down on ideological bias.
As part of the cuts, the network will cancel its streaming shows CBS Mornings Plus and CBS Evening News Plus, shutter its South Africa bureau, and revamp its Saturday morning program, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a source familiar with the changes. Guardian reporter Jeremy Barr also reported on the cuts, posting on X that CBS “gutted” its Race and Culture unit. CBS had tasked that unit with overseeing “news stories about race, culture and injustice, ensuring they have the proper context and tone,” according to a 2020 profile of executive producer Alvin Patrick.
Paramount CEO David Ellison, who has vowed to root out ideological bias at CBS and “right-size” the failing network, announced the moves in an internal memo.
“In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization,” Ellison wrote. “In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
Ellison’s announcement has sent the CBS newsroom into a tailspin, according to the Guardian. One staffer described the layoffs as “nerve-racking” and said, “Seems no one is safe,” while another called the cuts a “blood bath.”
CBS staffers had a similar meltdown earlier this month when Paramount announced Free Press founder Bari Weiss as the network’s editor in chief. “A throwing up emoji is not enough of a reflection of the feelings in here,” a staffer told the Guardian. A second staffer shared with the Independent that “people are using words like depressing and doomsday,” while another noted that the changes “have everyone just kind of freaking out, like, literally freaking out.”
The network has long faced accusations of left-wing bias in its coverage. In July, CBS and Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit alleging that 60 Minutes, the network’s flagship news program, deceptively edited footage last year to make then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris appear more coherent and boost her campaign.
CBS has recently also come under fire over its anti-Israel bias, in particular for a January 60 Minutes segment that criticized Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists and relied on sources affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose executive director has openly praised Hamas.
Ellison in a July meeting with FCC chairman Brendan Carr emphasized his “commitment to unbiased journalism” and pledged to reflect “the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers” at the network. In September, Paramount hired Kenneth Weinstein, a former president of the conservative Hudson Institute, to serve as CBS’s ombudsman, investigating any complaints about bias from employees and viewers.
Read the full article here
