Paramount named Kenneth R. Weinstein, a former CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute, as the new ombudsman for CBS News on Monday, cementing CEO David Ellison’s apparent intent to have the news organization reflect more conservative ideals.
Paramount President Jeff Shell said in a statement that Weinstein would bring a “wealth of advisory experience” and a “calm, measured perspective” to the role.
“At a time when trust in media is more important than ever, this new role reinforces our commitment to truth, trust, and accountability,” Shell said.
Weinstein, who is not a journalist, will be charged with reviewing concerns from CBS News employees and viewers, addressing questions about its coverage, and maintaining its commitment to its standards.
Ellison, who took hold of Paramount last month after a lengthy acquisition process, promised the Federal Communications Commission an appointment of an ombudsman to help secure federal approval.
Weinstein regarded CBS News as “one of the most respected journalistic institutions in the world” in a statement and said he looked forward to stewarding public trust in the organization.
A political theorist who previously served as the Hudson Institute’s president and CEO from 2005 to 2021, Weinstein currently serves as the Japan Chair for the institute, a conservative think tank founded by physicist Herman Kahn.
He was President Donald Trump’s nominee in 2017 to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan. The nomination, however, never made it out of the Senate and lapsed after Trump left office in 2021.
Weinstein will report any findings to Shell and Paramount’s head of TV Media, George Cheeks, according to the company. Cheeks will then work with CBS News President Tom Cibrowski to address any concerns.
CBS News has faced a torrent of bias accusations from conservatives over the last year, with Trump in particular waging legal warfare against the network over coverage he has deemed unfair.
Trump sued CBS for $20 billion last year over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris he alleged was illegally distorted. He used the lawsuit as a springboard for complaints over its coverage of his second term, prompting Paramount’s former controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, to review Trump segments as the company sought the FCC’s approval.
It has also faced complaints over its coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza, with a “CBS Mornings” interview between anchor Tony Dokoupil and author Ta-Nehisi Coates last year (which prompted a rare public rebuke from Redstone) and a “60 Minutes” episode in January sparking concerns of one-sided coverage.
“We needed more balance,” Redstone told the New York Times in an interview published after the merger was completed. “Part of me thought, maybe Trump could accomplish what I never got done.”
Weinstein appears to have had his own concerns about CBS News’ coverage. In a post last year from his recently deleted X account, Weinstein wondered if the “presence of one righteous man” — Dokoupil — could “save @CBSNews from utter condemnation?”
