CBS taps Susan Zirinsky to lead standards department as network struggles with claims of bias
CBS tapped a veteran executive to help tackle “perceived bias” at the Tiffany Network and its flagship show “60 Minutes” – including Sunday’s report on the war in Gaza that critics slammed for being “one-sided” against Israel.
Susan Zirinsky, a longtime fixer within the network, was named executive editor in a role that will have her oversee the Standards & Practices unit, CBS CEO George Cheeks announced late Monday.
Zirinsky, a legendary CBS producer who also served as the news division’s president from 2019 to 2021, will help the network “deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting,” including on “highly complex, sensitive issues like the war in the Middle East,” Cheeks said in his memo.
“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,” Cheeks said. “This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage.”
Her appointment comes as the network faces intense scrutiny over bias claims made by President-elect Donald Trump over allegedly editing a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to make her sound coherent — and the possibility that his pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission could delay the pending merger of CBS-parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media, as The Post exclusively reported.
Sources close to Zirinsky said her new role will not include a review on what the network has done wrong but will instead tackle the journalism across its various shows “going forward.”
“‘60 Minutes stands by their reporting” regarding the Sunday segment, a CBS News spokesperson said. Zirinsky did not comment.
On Monday, “60 Minutes” landed in hot water again after the American Jewish Committee slammed CBS for airing a segment titled “Dissent within the State Department over the US role in Israel-Hamas War.”
The advocacy group said the piece that aired Sunday was “shockingly one-sided, lacked factual accuracy, and relied heavily on misguided information.”
It cited claims that Israel is blocking aid into Gaza, which has been refuted, and omitted blame of Hamas terrorists for “starting and perpetuating the war.”
It also relied on interviews from former officials Josh Paul and Hala Rharrit, who claimed the US has been “complicit” in helping Israel to carry out alleged violations of international law and saying American weapons transfers have enabled “devastation” in Gaza that the administration has ignored.
The AJC said the segment omitted key details about the interviewees, including their connections to CAIR, the Muslim advocacy group whose leader, Nihad Awad, has said that he was “happy to see” Hamas’ terror attacks and argued that Israel does not have a “right to self-defense.”
His comments were denounced by The White House as “shocking” and “antisemitic” last month.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said on X Monday that he was “outraged” CBS News “would air such a biased and one-sided piece, villainizing Israel and berating US support for its ally.”
“‘60 Minutes’ is supposed to be the gold standard for broadcast journalism, but they completely dropped the ball last night,” Greenblatt added. “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?”
People familiar with the situation told The Post that CBS News president Wendy McMahon has been searching for an executive editor since December but the latest gaffe has pushed top brass to get someone in the role immediately.
Zirinsky, who began her career at CBS News in 1972, will grab the role on an interim basis and continue to run the network’s documentary unit, “See It Now Studios.”
The network was also embroiled in another scandal in October involving “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil’s heated interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Dokoupil, who converted to Judiaism, grilled Coates on whether his new book expressed antipathy toward Israel. On October 7, the anniversary of Hamas’ attack, CBS News execs told staffers Dokoupil’s report failed to meet the network’s standards.
