Rooting Out Bias at CBS News

Or at least trying ...

Deadline, which covers news and entertainment, reports: “As the FCC reviews its proposed acquisition of Paramount Global, Skydance has committed to create an ombudsman position to review complaints of bias at CBS News.”

An ombudsman at CBS News? Well, color me shocked. I spent 28 years in that newsroom, and every time I raised the issue of bias, the reaction ranged somewhere between a blank stare and a polite yawn. Once, in a rare moment of honesty, an executive told me, “Of course there’s a liberal bias” in mainstream journalism — but, naturally, he quickly added that if I ever repeated it, he’d deny ever saying it. So much for being in the business of telling the truth.

So this move by Skydance — a company best known for Tom Cruise hanging off the side of airplanes — is a significant shift in thinking. The idea of someone at CBS (or anywhere in big media) whose actual job is to call balls and strikes on bias? That’s a bold step. In theory, it’s a great idea. But theory and reality are two different animals.

Journalists, especially in big newsrooms, have a reflexive defense mechanism when it comes to criticism: They circle the wagons. An ombudsman could, theoretically, break through the wall of self-righteousness. Or it could just become another bureaucratic figurehead with no real power. We’ll see which one wins out soon enough.

Here’s the problem Skydance might not fully appreciate: Once that ombudsman chair is filled, the floodgates will open. They’ll get complaints from everyone — from people with legitimate concerns to folks who see liberal bias in the weather report. If Leslie Stahl blinks while saying “Donald Trump,” half the MAGA world will take that as proof of left-wing conspiracy. And when the ombudsman rejects those complaints — which will happen often — do you think those critics will say, “Well, I guess CBS was right on that one”? No. They’ll say the ombudsman is just another liberal hack covering for liberal journalists.

But wait, it gets better. What happens when the ombudsman calls out real bias? That’s when the journalists will push back. They’ll likely dismiss the ombudsman as some right-wing stooge installed by Skydance to appease Trump supporters. In other words, the ombudsman will take fire from both sides — and good luck with that job description.

I know the newsroom culture. The mindset goes like this: “If you think we have a bias, that proves you’re the one with the bias.” It’s a neat little trick that absolves journalists of any accountability. It’s also one reason why so many Americans have stopped trusting the news.

Don’t just take my word for it. The late, great Eric Sevareid, who knew a thing or two about journalism, once said: “We are simply, I’m afraid, disliked by far too many — perceived by them as not only smug but arrogant and as critics of everybody but ourselves.”

And Steven Brill, a lawyer-turned-media critic, put it even more bluntly: “When it comes to arrogance, power, and lack of accountability, journalists are probably the only people on the planet who make lawyers look good.”

So, good luck, CBS News ombudsman. You’re stepping into a job that will make herding cats look like a walk in the park. You’ll need thick skin — and possibly a crash helmet.