The mainstream media has been at war with conservatives. But they have finally lost.
Because CBS caved to Republican pressure and announced the unthinkable.
CBS News Embraces Reform After Years of Democratic Tilt
CBS News insiders are absorbing a seismic shift in editorial direction, one that arrives as the network confronts its track record of uneven coverage favoring Democrats over Republicans.
Bari Weiss, installed as editor-in-chief on Monday following Paramount’s blockbuster $150 million purchase of her independent platform, The Free Press, used her debut memo to the staff to advocate for genuine parity in political accountability— a stark contrast to CBS’s past lapses, such as the 2004 Killian documents scandal that amplified unverified claims against George W. Bush, eroding trust among conservatives.
“The opportunity to build on that legacy with you — and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it — is an extraordinary privilege. Right now, I imagine you have some questions. I do, too,” Weiss wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
“My goal in the coming days and weeks is to get to know you. I want to hear from you about what’s working, what isn’t, and your thoughts on how we can make CBS News the most trusted news organization in America and the world. I’ll approach it the way any reporter would — with an open mind, a fresh notebook, and an urgent deadline,” Weiss continued.
Among her 10 “core journalistic values,” Weiss spotlighted the imperative to hold “both American political parties to equal scrutiny”—a principle CBS has historically struggled with, as evidenced by linguistic analyses revealing heavier use of Democratic-preferred phrasing like “minimum wage” in its reporting, sidelining Republican terms such as “death tax.”
Weiss’s Independent Roots Versus CBS’s Entrenched Liberal Slant
Weiss’s ascent to CBS helm builds on her bold trajectory: after departing The New York Times in 2020 amid claims of colleague harassment, she ignited the “Common Sense” newsletter in 2021, morphing it into The Free Press by 2022—a venture that thrived by dissecting the very groupthink CBS exemplified, including its left-leaning bias rated by watchdogs like AllSides.
This history of preferential Democratic framing, seen in softer scrutiny of figures like those in the 2012 Benghazi coverage, has long alienated half the audience, with Pew data showing Democrats trusting CBS at rates far exceeding Republicans.
David Ellison, stepping up as Paramount CEO in August post the Skydance Media merger, fired off his own Monday missive to employees, mirroring Weiss’s anti-partisanship stance and implicitly nodding to CBS’s failures—like the 1960s subsidization controversies that critics tied to liberal advocacy.
“If we are to move forward, we must find our way back to the ideals that shaped both our country and civilization itself: open exchange of ideas, vigorous yet respectful debate, and a genuine regard for the beliefs and traditions of others,” Ellison wrote in the memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
Paramount’s Push to Curb CBS’s Democratic Echo Chamber
Ellison didn’t shy away on the media’s divisive habits, a subtle rebuke to CBS’s pattern of amplifying “us vs. them” narratives that often shielded Democrats while hammering Republicans, as flagged in ongoing critiques of shows like Face the Nation for evident favoritism.
“When we reduce every issue to ‘us vs. them’ or ‘my way vs. the wrong way,’ we close ourselves off from listening, learning, and ultimately growing, both as individuals and as a society,” he continued. “I don’t pretend to have a solution to this challenge. But I do believe we each have a responsibility to do our part.”
Reiterating CBS’s core duty amid this self-inflicted credibility dip—fueled by hyper-partisan episodes that media bias charts slot firmly in the liberal skew—Ellison declared: “to ensure that this global platform remains a place where people can seek the truth, gain understanding, and engage with the facts. That is our purpose.”
Weiss, whose career rails against the liberal homogeneity that CBS embodied through scandals and skewed trust metrics, promises a thorough overhaul. “Everyone is waiting to see how things will fall. Nobody knows,” one CBS staffer told Fox News Digital.
