CBS has hired a veteran executive to help tackle “bias” at Tiffany Network and its flagship show “60 Minutes.” This includes Sunday's coverage of the Gaza war, which critics denounced as “one-sided” against Israel.
CBS CEO George Cheeks announced late Monday that Susan Zirinsky, a longtime fixer at the network, has been named executive editor, a position overseeing the standards and practices division.
Zirinsky, CBS' legendary producer and president of news from 2019 to 2021, said the network had a “balanced “to provide accurate, fair, and timely reporting.'' ” Cheeks said in the memo.
“CBS News takes this responsibility seriously. There is no way to cover such a sensitive issue without provoking some degree of criticism, but we have a responsibility to address those concerns,” Cheeks said. said. “This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage.”
Her appointment comes amid claims of bias by President-elect Donald Trump that he allegedly edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to ensure her inconsistency, and his nomination to head the Federal Communications Commission. The move comes as the agency faces intense scrutiny over its potential to As The Post exclusively reported, the commission could delay the pending merger of CBS parent company Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
A source close to Zirinsky said her new role would not include reviewing the station's wrongdoings, but would instead focus on journalism through a variety of programs “in the future.”
CBS and Zirinsky did not comment.
'60 Minutes' descends into chaos again on Monday after the American Jewish Committee slammed CBS aired a segment titled “Opposition within the State Department over the U.S. role in the Israel-Hamas war.''
The advocacy group said Sunday's broadcast was “stunningly one-sided, lacking in factual accuracy and relying heavily on misinformation.”
The newspaper cited claims that Israel was blocking aid to the Gaza Strip, which has been refuted, and omitted accusations of Hamas terrorists for “starting and perpetuating war.”
The report also relied on interviews with former officials Josh Paul and Hala Lalit, who both said the United States was “complicit” in helping Israel commit alleged violations of international law. He claimed that US arms transfers had enabled the regime's “devastation” of the Gaza Strip. Ignored.
The AJC said the corner omitted important details about the interviewees. This includes its relationship with the Muslim advocacy group CAIR. CAIR leader Nihad Awad says he is “glad to see” Hamas's terrorist attacks and insists there are no terrorist attacks in Israel. “Right of self-defense.”
His comments were condemned by the White House last month as “shocking” and “anti-Semitic.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. X said on Monday He said he was “outraged that CBS News would air such a biased, one-sided story that demonizes Israel and criticizes U.S. support for our allies.”
“'60 Minutes' is supposed to be the gold standard in broadcast journalism, and last night it was a total let down,” Greenblatt added. “Where is the perspective that opposes the interviewees? Where is the statement that nearly 100 hostages, including Americans, are still being held captive? What kind of journalism is that?”
CBS News President Wendy McMahon had been searching for an editor-in-chief since December, but the latest gaffe prompted upper management to immediately hire someone for the role, people familiar with the situation told The Post. They say they are being encouraged to take up the job.
Zirinsky, who began his career at CBS News in 1972, has been awarded the role on an interim basis and will continue to run the network's documentary division, See It Now Studio.
The network was embroiled in another scandal in October involving a heated interview between “CBS Morning” co-hosts Tony Dokoupil and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Mr. Dokoupil, who converted to Judaism, slammed Mr. Coates over whether his new book expressed antipathy toward Israel. On Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, CBS News executives told staff that Dokoupil's reporting did not meet the station's standards.
