The new owner of Paramount Global, Skydance Media’s David Ellison, is signaling that he wants to try to make good on his promise to implement reforms at CBS News and address decades of accusations of persistent left-wing bias at the Paramount subsidiary.
Skydance’s general counsel made clear, written commitments to the Federal Communications Commission, as its merger with CBS’ parent company, Paramount, was under review, vowing to produce unbiased journalism. Yet, it has not been clear how seriously Mr. Ellison is about addressing allegations of bias in the news division, which over the last 40 years has proven highly resistant to reform.
On Thursday, the day Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount Global was officially consummated, Mr. Ellison met with reporters in New York and fielded a variety of questions about his plans for Paramount and its various properties. Some questions he flatly refused to answer, such as whether Skydance made a side deal to provide free air time for conservative advertisements.
A far-left media reporter, Darcy wrote in his Status newsletter that he spoke with Mr. Ellison “informally” about the future of CBS. The Skydance chief signaled that he is taking seriously his commitment to unbiased journalism as he said he wants the network’s content to appeal to more Americans, including those with “center-right views.”
Mr. Ellison – whose father, Larry Ellison, is a strong Trump supporter and the world’s second richest man – said that one half of his family identifies as Democrats and the other half identifies as Republicans, and he wants to create a news outlet that both wings of his family feel they can watch.
Before the FCC approved the Skydance deal, Mr. Ellison’s company sent several letters committing to unbiased journalism and ensuring that Paramount’s properties would feature a diversity of viewpoints. Skydance also said it would install an “ombudsman” inside CBS News, to evaluate complaints of bias. The latter promise has raised concerns among left-wing reporters who have suggested the ombudsman would report not just to Paramount but possibly to the FCC, raising questions about whether the government would be given the ability to influence reporting.
The incoming president of Paramount, Jeff Shell, said the position is “a transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle.”
During the formal press conference, Mr. Ellison vaguely addressed some questions from Mr. Darcy about whether he would interfere in CBS News and “60 Minutes,” which has traditionally operated with a virtually unprecedented level of independence.
Mr. Ellison told Mr. Darcy, “Of course, we believe in the impact of journalism.”
“We believe in the trust business. We believe in the truth business. But I have watched others wade into the political spectrum, and I just want to be transparent: I have no interest in doing that,” he said.
Mr. Darcy was not satisfied with that response and asked Mr. Ellison if he would commit to ensuring that the recently appointed executive producer of “60 Minutes” would have “full editorial control and autonomy,” or would have oversight from senior management. Mr. Ellison did not give a clear answer.
“60 Minutes,” the last-remaining broadcast television news magazine that isn’t devoted exclusively to crime, has long been known for a hard left partisan slant. The political journalist Mark Halperin recently said, about “60 Minutes,” on his podcast that, “their liberal bias and anti-Trump coverage is as egregious as anybody’s.”
As a result, Republican political figures will rarely sit for interviews, especially with its two farthest left correspondents, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper.
After Paramount’s July 1 announcement that it would pay $16 million to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS, multiple reports indicated that the staff was disappointed. They were somewhat placated by the fact that CBS did not offer an apology for the editing of Vice President Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview and signaled that they would keep an open mind toward their new bosses. However, anonymous staffers voiced concerns that the new management would meddle in the news division and “60 Minutes.”
Mr. Ellison said that his first visit after the Skydance deal closed was to CBS News and the “60 Minutes” team. He added, “It is literally day one. We’re not going to sit up here and say we have every answer today.”
The chief executive of CBS, George Cheeks, who is the only top Paramount executive to survive the merger, said that there had been no corporate interference in the news division over the spring. Mr. Darcy said that the former head of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, and the former executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, who were both forced out in part because of their opposition to settling the president’s lawsuit, would likely disagree with Mr. Cheeks’ assertion.
Mr. Darcy reported that the new owner was “well-received” by the staff. It remains to be seen how the relationship between the “60 Minutes” staff and the top Skydance and Paramount officials plays out. Over the spring, the news magazine program ran weekly anti-Trump stories that seemed to be the staff thumbing its nose that Paramount executives who, according to multiple reports, hoped the show would tone down its critical coverage until the Skydance deal was approved. One of the stars of the show, Lesley Stahl, publicly criticized the former non-executive chairwoman of Paramount, Shari Redstone, and said she was “angry” at her as the company tried to resolve Mr. Trump’s lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that staffers at CBS are known to drag their feet, believing they can ignore their bosses’ wishes and outlast them instead of following their directives. The CBS News team has outlived multiple regimes, owners and managers (often, in part, by leaking about them to the New York Post), and while it has long been the weakest, lowest-rated rated and most poorly funded of the network news divisions, it has nevertheless survived.
Mr. Ellison declined to answer questions about reporting on other personnel decisions, such as whether he is in talks to hire the founder of the pro-Israel, anti-woke outlet the Free Press, Bari Weiss, and give her a non-managerial role shaping CBS’ editorial voice. He also did not comment on whether he plans to demote or “layer” the current president of CBS News, Tom Cibrowski, a former colleague of Ms. McMahon’s from ABC’s owned stations group, who joined CBS shortly before her ouster. Mr Cibrowski may lack the mettle and guile to manage “60 Minutes,” which has long considered itself superior to, and not subject to, the larger CBS News division. A veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, reported that Skydance is in talks with a former CBS News executive and former Fox News executive, David Rhodes, to return to run the network.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
