CBS News parent company Paramount has hired the head of a conservative think tank to keep tabs on its complaints from consumers and employees after a string of controversies.
Former Hudson Institute CEO Kenneth Weinstein, 63, was unveiled as CBS News’ first news ‘ombudsman’ on Monday.
Weinstein ‘will serve as an independent, internal advocate for journalistic integrity and transparency,’ the company said in a statement.
In it, Paramount President Jeff Shell welcomed the former exec’s ‘wealth of advisory experience’, noting it comes ‘at a time when trust in media is more important than ever.’
The move also comes days after CBS revised its policy for airing live interviews to offer ‘greater transparency’ after accusations of ‘deceptive’ editing practices from both Donald Trump and Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem.
In addition, it follows reports that Bari Weiss, the anti-woke former New York Times opinion editor who resigned from the paper in 2020 over its ‘illiberal environment’, is set to take the reins at CBS News, following Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
‘This new role reinforces our commitment to truth, trust, and accountability,’ Shell, in return, vowed.
The New York Post reported two weeks ago the workload for the position would amount to about a day a month and that the correct candidate would make roughly $250,000 a year.
Former Hudson Institute CEO Kenneth Weinstein, 63, was unveiled as CBS News’ first news ‘ombudsman’ on Monday
More recently, Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem on Sunday accused CBS News of ‘shamefully’ editing her response to a question about deported migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Weinstein will now be tasked with ‘reviewing concerns raised by employees and viewers, addressing questions about news coverage, and upholding the organization’s longstanding commitment to accuracy and accountability’, the company said.
From there, he will review each complaint and rule whether further action is required.
Any issues would then be raised to Shell and George Cheeks, the former Paramount Co-CEO who now serves as the company’s chair of TV Media after Skydance’s $8billion acquisition of the company this past August.
‘After assessing the complaint, and if they collectively determine that such outreach is necessary, Weinstein, Shell, and Cheeks will address the complaint with the President and Executive Editor of CBS News, Tom Cibrowski,’ Paramount explained further.
Then, Cibrowski ‘will recommend and implement any necessary action steps,’ the company said.
Weinstein also responded to his appointment in his own statement.
He said he was ‘honored’ to serve as the inaugural ombudsman for CBS News, which he hailed as ‘one of the most respected journalistic institutions in the world.’
The longtime policy analyst – who chaired the Broadcasting Board of Governors during Trump’s first term – added: ‘I look forward to supporting the talented team behind its reporting and to stewarding public trust in this critical institution.’
Last month, in his first presser as boss, new Paramount Chairman David Ellison, 42, promised to shed any prior political connotations that may be tied to the company. Ellison is the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison
The statement echoed one offered by the new Paramount Chairman David Ellison just last month, where he 42-year-old tech scion promised to shed any prior political connotations that may be tied to the company.
‘We’re an entertainment company first, and I genuinely believe if you’re breathing, you’re our audience,’ the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison told reporters gathered on the Paramount Pictures lot on August 13 for his first press conference as boss.
‘I don’t want to politicize this company. We want to be in the business of speaking to everybody.’
The speech appeared to reference Trump‘s suit that claimed edits to an October ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris were biased, after which Paramount agreed to pay the president $16million to settle.
With weeks, the FCC signed of on the merger, leading to accusations of bribery due to the deal requiring federal approval.
A few months before, both 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens and then-CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon resigned in protest, concerned about the direction the company was going.
Earlier in the year, CBS News brought retired producer Susan Zirinsky, 73, out of retirement to serve to as an interim ‘executive editor’ to oversee the network’s standards and journalistic practices.
The move comes days after CBS revised its policy for airing live interviews to offer ‘greater transparency’ after accusations of ‘deceptive’ editing practices from Donald Trump and Kristi Noem. Trump sued the network over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris last year
The move came after a fiery October interview with pro-Palestinian writer Ta-Nehsi Coates that aired on CBS Mornings that frustrated Shari Redstone, the Paramount heiress who handed the keys to the company over the Ellison last month.
In an interview with the New York Times after the deal was inked in August, Redstone admitted that ‘[CBS News] needed more balance’.
In addition to the CBS Mornings segment , she said she’d been offended by a separate 60 Minutes episode on the Israel-Hamas war she felt was too slanted in favor of the Palestinian cause.
‘Part of me thought, maybe Trump could accomplish what I never got done,’ she said of Trump’s $20billion lawsuit.
More recently on Sunday, Noem slammed CBS for cutting nearly four minutes from her interview with Margaret Brennan.
Cut clips included an explanation of deported migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s alleged criminal past and statements calling him ‘perverted’ and a ‘wife-beater.’
Prior to changing its policy surrounding live interviews, the network said the sitdown was edited for time and ‘met all CBS News standards.’
CBS Mornings Co-Hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson with CBS Mornings Executive Producer Shawna Thomas (seen in June)
The move also follows reports that Bari Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor-turned-legacy media critic, is set to take the reins at CBS News, after Paramount’s merger with Skydance in August
By Friday, execs announced Face the Nation show ‘will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews’ to add ‘greater transparency’ to its interviews.
A day before, Puck reported Weiss was ‘on the verge’ of having her publication, The Free Press, acquired by CBS parent company Paramount Skydance and being given control of CBS News.
Weiss, 41, is a fierce critic of legacy media.
