Better Late Than Never

New Editor-in-Chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss (JTA)

Nowhere is the anti-Israel bias reflected by the broadcast media more strident than at CBS. While there is bias among all three major networks, CBS is by far the worst offender.

There has been enough instances of that bias over the last two years to make it abundantly clear to those of us paying attention. Unfortunately, CBS frames this bias as ‘balanced reporting’.

One of the most egregious examples was a 60 Minutes hit piece wherein Cecilia

Vega interviewed some disgruntled State Department employees who resigned over what they claimed was the U.S. government’s mishandling of the ‘atrocities’ being committed by the Netanyahu government in the war with Hamas. The report made it seem as though these individuals had inside information and irrefutable evidence of Israeli atrocities. Which they described in some detail.

None of this was verified by independent sources. And it was certainly far from the truth. But as is 60 Minutes’ habit, they made it sound like their version of events was the only truth. They had absolutely no problem ignoring Israel’s version of the truth. Which, in fact, was probably much closer to reality than what 60 Minutes was peddling.

Then there’s Imtiaz Tyab. He was hired away from Al Jazeera and is now CBS’s senior foreign correspondent. His reports from Gaza were devastatingly anti-Israel.

Perhaps the worst perpetrator of anti-Israel bias is Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. She’s an attractive, well-dressed reporter who looks and sounds as American as apple pie. But her attitude toward Israel is not much different from Tyab’s. What may at first sound like hard-hitting but balanced questions, upon closer listening, are anything but even-handed.

Her guests on this subject are almost invariably anti-Israel, posing as objective voices—until you hear their responses to Brennan’s loaded questions, to which she often nods approvingly. On the rare occasions when she hosts a pro-Israel senator or administration official, she argues with their answers and makes sure to have the last word before going to commercial. This has been her pattern ever since the war with Hamas began.

Then there was what happened to Tony Dokoupil - perhaps the only truly even-handed reporter on CBS’s roster - when he interviewed author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his pro-Palestinian bias and failure to consider Israel’s point of view.

Dokoupil was criticized for that interview, accused of pro-Israel bias and of not living up to ‘journalistic standards’ by his bosses at CBS. This led to a backlash from at least one prominent CBS colleague, Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford, who argued that his questions were entirely legitimate and deserved answers from Coates.

This episode revealed CBS’s bias as clearly as the morning sun. They view Israel’s perspective as immoral, and the Palestinian perspective as the objectively moral one. Only those with a pro-Palestinian bias would see it the way CBS management did.

Fortunately, Dokoupil was not fired and remains one of the three anchors on CBS’s morning news program. But he is virtually alone. Everyone else there seems to accept the pro-Palestinian perspective while ignoring Israel’s.

Well, things are about to change at CBS News. Apparently, the new owners of Paramount - the parent company of CBS - feel the same way I do. So did the previous owner, Shari Redstone. They both recognized the bias at CBS News and didn’t like it much either. That is one of the reasons Redstone gave for selling the company to Skydance.

Skydance CEO, David Ellison, is indeed planning to make a few changes at that news organization. The following was reported by JTA:

“Bari Weiss, the journalist who first rose to prominence for her campus campaign alleging antisemitism two decades ago, has been named editor-in-chief of CBS News, a stunning ascent that marks one of the most consequential appointments in American media in recent years.

The appointment came as Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, announced its $150 million purchase of The Free Press, the publication Weiss founded in 2022. Weiss will oversee both outlets as editor-in-chief, reporting directly to Ellison. The move marks a major shakeup for a legacy news division long associated with mainstream liberalism, and a bet on Weiss’s brand of provocative centrism.”

Centrism. What a refreshing change of direction for CBS. No longer will progressivism be presented as unadulterated truth while anything to the right is dismissed as extremist bias.

Predictably, many journalists at CBS’s progressive core saw this move as the death of objective journalism. How perverse that those who routinely invalidate other points of view without a moment’s thought now claim the mantle of objectivity.

The American people may soon get the fair and balanced news reporting that only a proactive centrist can deliver.

The first step Bari Weiss should take is to fire Imtiaz Tyab and replace him with a true centrist—if she can find one. Next, Margaret Brennan should be replaced, perhaps by Tony Dokoupil.

And 60 Minutes needs serious oversight by unbiased producers to prevent future “hit pieces” like the one reported by Cecilia Vega.

This is where a proactive centrist like Bari Weiss can make all the difference in the world. If the American people are finally given the truth about Israel’s conduct in this war instead of the propaganda Hamas has fed them thus far, it might just restore their long-standing support for the Jewish state.

Comments to this post can be made at Emes Ve-Emunah II where it is cross-posted