Susan Zirinsky will return to CBS News as interim executive editor in response to criticism of “perceived bias” in its news coverage, CBS co-CEO George Cheeks said on Monday.
In a memo to staff, Cheeks wrote: “In today’s fast-moving news environment, it is critical for newsrooms to quickly and effectively deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting, including highly complex, sensitive issues like the war in the Middle East.
“CBS News takes this responsibility seriously. While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns. This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage. We cannot let this negatively affect our legacy or our future, our mission or our connection to our viewers.”
Zirinsky, a highly respected longtime news veteran, produced a documentary about the Nova Music Festival massacre by Hamas on Oct. 7 called “We Will Dance Again.” While in the newly created interim role, she will not leave her post as head of See It Now Studios.
On Sunday “60 Minutes” aired a story about dissent in the State Department over US policy on Gaza on Sunday that drew the fury of Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, for being anti-Israel.
“I’m outraged that @CBSnews @60minutes would air such a biased and one-sided piece, villainizing Israel and berating US support for its ally,” he wrote on X on Monday. “60 Minutes is supposed to be the gold standard for broadcast journalism, but they completely dropped the ball last night. Where are the counter perspectives to those interviewed? Where is the mention of the nearly 100 hostages – including Americans – STILL in captivity!? What kind of journalism is that?”
The American Jewish Committee also accused the network of bias. “The segment made almost no mention of Hamas’ actions that started this war, placing Palestinian civilians in Gaza in harm’s way for years by embedding weapons and other terrorist infrastructure in civilian areas,” the group stated. “The segment only briefly referred to Hamas’ massacre on October 7, 2023, described their fighters as ‘militants’ rather than terrorists, and even went so far as to elevate the outlandish notion that, following Hamas’ October 7 attack, Israel should have sought to make peace with Hamas terrorists rather than act in self-defense.”
The shift comes after an internal debate over the network’s coverage of the war in Gaza, which put Cheeks in conflict with Shari Redstone, the media mogul who controls Paramount Global, the owner of CBS News. The network had reprimanded its morning news anchor, Tony Dokoupil, over his handling of an interview with a writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Dokoupil challenged Coates’ stance on the war in Gaza and Israel’s treatment of West Bank Palestinians. Network president and CEO Wendy McMahon told the staff that the network had reviewed Dokoupil’s interview and that it had fallen short of network standards. Redstone subsequently publicly disagreed, saying, “They made a mistake here.”
Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews previously left her role as CBS News president in July, opting to serve as senior advisor for 2024 presidential election coverage before leaving the company completely amid the Paramount merger.
CBS has elsewhere been under pressure in recent months over its coverage of the 2024 presidential election and accusations that news magazine “60 Minutes” unfairly edited its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The network denied having done so.
“Former President Donald Trump is accusing ’60 Minutes’ of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false,” a spokesperson said of the controversy at the time. “When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on ’60 Minutes’ was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”
Trump later sued the network for $10 billion, accusing the network of “deceptive doctoring” of the “60 Minutes” sit-down with Harris.
Read Cheeks’ Monday evening staff memo regarding Zirinsky’s return in full below:
CBS News Team —
In today’s fast-moving news environment, it is critical for newsrooms to quickly and effectively deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting, including highly complex, sensitive issues like the war in the Middle East.
CBS News takes this responsibility seriously. While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns. This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage. We cannot let this negatively affect our legacy or our future, our mission or our connection to our viewers.
Wendy and her team have been conducting a search for a newly created Executive Editor position who will sit across the news division with the specific mandate of ensuring we have the expertise, resources and oversight to enable coverage of the most challenging issues with the highest degree of balance and integrity. Standards will report into this new position.
We have asked Susan Zirinsky – whom you are all familiar with – to serve in this Executive Editor role on an interim basis while we conduct this search.
Variety first reported the news.
