Skydance ‘will ensure CBS’s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,’ Ellison writes
Skydance Media chief executive David Ellison recently met with Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr to lobby for the agency’s approval of Skydance’s impending acquisition of entertainment giant Paramount. There, Ellison emphasized his “commitment to unbiased journalism” and pledged to reflect “the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers” at Paramount subsidiary CBS, according to a letter describing the meeting.
Ellison’s attorney submitted the letter to the FCC on July 17, two days after the meeting. It urges the agency to “promptly grant” Skydance’s acquisition applications and includes descriptions of the sitdown between Ellison and Carr. CBS’s editorial slant appeared to have been a central topic of conversation.
“Relatedly, we discussed Skydance’s commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints, principles that will ensure CBS’s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,” Skydance attorney Matthew Brill writes in the letter. “We likewise noted Skydance’s commitment to promoting non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity at New Paramount, ensuring the company is fully compliant with law.”
The Ellison and Carr meeting came roughly two weeks after Paramount and CBS settled a lawsuit from President Donald Trump accusing CBS’s flagship news program, 60 Minutes, of editing an interview last year to benefit then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Though the settlement was seen as a crucial step in Skydance’s bid to secure federal approval, its Paramount acquisition has not yet received the green light. Carr has also taken aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at national broadcast networks; CBS Studios in April settled a suit from a script coordinator who accused the company of using illegal racial quotas.
Any shift toward viewpoint diversity at CBS would likely have a significant impact on the network’s Israel coverage, which has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
Last fall, under then-CEO Wendy McMahon, CBS News reprimanded anchor Tony Dokoupil for violating the network’s “editorial standards” by asking tough questions of anti-Israel author and left-wing darling Ta-Nehisi Coates. It did no such thing when star anchor and Obama family confidant Gayle King accused the Jewish father of an 8-year-old girl held hostage by Hamas of playing “politics.” Coates said King approached him ahead of his CBS interview to flag questions she planned to ask. McMahon resigned from the network in May.
CBS has also worked with terror-tied individuals in the Middle East. One of its producers based in the Gaza Strip, Marwan al-Ghoul, also worked as a public official in the Hamas-controlled territory, a job that brought him into contact with known terrorists, according to an investigation from watchdog group Honest Reporting. In 2018, al-Ghoul spoke at an official Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine event, where he praised the terror group and its “path of struggle and martyrdom,” the investigation found.
CBS News host Margaret Brennan has had her fair share of controversial exchanges on Israel and Jewish issues. In 2023, she suggested during an interview with Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.) that Palestinians cannot be anti-Semitic because “all Arabs are Semites.” In February, meanwhile, she claimed during an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Holocaust occurred because Nazis “weaponized” free speech.
A 2024 CBS News editorial memo reportedly instructed staffers to refrain from calling Jerusalem part of Israel.
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