CBS producer alleges political steering at newsroom

A veteran CBS News producer is leaving after 46 years and alleges that newsroom staff have been told to “aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum”, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian. Mary Walsh’s departure comes amid a wave of buyouts at CBS’s evening news operation and just as parent company Paramount Skydance positions itself to buy Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of CNN.

Walsh did not name executives or specify which political direction she believed the newsroom was being pushed toward. But the timing matters. Paramount Skydance is seeking federal approval for a transaction that would reshape the US media landscape, combining major studios, cable networks, streaming services and nationally prominent news brands under one corporate structure. In that environment, editorial controversy is not just a reputational issue; it becomes a regulatory variable.

The Guardian reports that CBS is now led by Bari Weiss, a conservative commentator turned media entrepreneur, whose appointment was seen by some as helpful to the Trump administration. Another departing producer, Alicia Hastey, recently warned in a farewell memo that stories might be judged not only on journalistic merit but on whether they align with “a shifting set of ideological expectations”, creating a “chilling effect”. At a staff town hall last month, an employee questioned whether feedback itself had become risky inside the newsroom.

None of this requires a centralised order to censor. When a conglomerate depends on approvals, spectrum licences, merger clearances and informal goodwill, the safest corporate posture is to minimise political friction. News divisions then inherit a new job: reduce the probability of headlines that trigger scrutiny, hearings or public feuds. The result is often internal “risk management” that feels like editorial guidance to producers and reporters.

The mechanism is mundane. A story that angers an administration can prompt threats, investigations or delays. A story that flatters the right audience can be cited as evidence of “balance” during a review. Meanwhile, layoffs and buyouts thin the ranks of senior staff who can absorb internal conflict. The people who remain learn quickly which pitches are welcomed, which are endlessly revised, and which quietly disappear.

CBS News president Tom Cibrowski praised Walsh on a staff-wide call, the Guardian reports, and she received an emotional send-off in Washington. Her memo also reads as a lament for “legacy” journalism, invoking figures such as Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.

Paramount Skydance is still waiting to be allowed to buy its next newsroom. At CBS, employees are already arguing over what that permission might cost.