CBS tapped a veteran executive to help address “perceived bias” at the Tiffany Network and its flagship show “60 Minutes” — including Sunday’s report on the war in Gaza that critics slammed as “biased” against Israel .
Susan Zirinsky, a longtime fixture within the network, was named executive editor in a role that will have her oversee the Standards and Practices unit, CBS CEO George Cheeks announced late Monday.
Zirinsky, a legendary CBS producer who also served as president of the news division from 2019 to 2021, will help the network “deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting,” including “very as complex and sensitive as the war in the Middle East,” Cheeks said in his note.
“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 these concerns,” Cheeks said. “This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage. “
Her appointment comes as the network faces intense scrutiny over allegations of bias made by President-elect Donald Trump for allegedly editing a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to make it sound coherent — and the possibility that the election his to head the Federal Communications Commission could delay the pending merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media by CBS, as The Post exclusively reported.
Sources close to Zirinsky said her new role will not include a review of what the network has done wrong, but will instead handle journalism on its various shows “going forward.”
CBS and Zirinsky did not comment.
On Monday, “60 Minutes” landed in hot water again after the American Jewish Committee criticized CBS for airing a segment titled “Indecision within the State Department on the U.S. role in the Israel-Hamas war.”
The advocacy group said the piece that aired on Sunday was “shockingly biased, lacked factual accuracy and relied heavily on misinformation.”
He cited claims that Israel is blocking aid to Gaza, which have been denied, and dismissed the blame of Hamas terrorists for “starting and continuing the war”.
He also relied on interviews by former officials Josh Paul and Hala Rharrit, who claimed the US had been “collusive” in helping Israel commit alleged violations of international law and said US arms transfers have enabled “destruction” in Gaza that the administration has. ignored.
The AJC said the segment omitted key details about the interviewees, including their ties to CAIR, the Muslim advocacy group whose leader, Nihad Awad, has said he was “happy to see” the Hamas terror attacks and argued that Israel there is no “Right to self-defense”.
His comments were denounced by the White House as “shocking” and “anti-Semitic” last month.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Monday that he was “outraged” that CBS News “would air such a biased and one-sided article, disparaging Israel and berating US support for the ally his”.
“’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 of the interviewees? 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 prompted senior executives to fill the role immediately.
Zirinsky, who began her career at CBS News in 1972, will take on the role on an interim basis and will 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 Judaism, grilled Coates about whether his new book expressed antipathy toward Israel. On October 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack, CBS News executives told staff that Dokoupil’s report did not meet the network’s standards.
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