Media

CBS Brings Back Veteran Producer Who Inspired ‘Broadcast News’ Character to Fight ‘Bias’

UNDER SCRUTINY

The move comes amid CBS News court tangles with Trump which could complicate its owner Paramount Global’s proposed $8 billion sale.

Susan Zirinsky.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

CBS News is bringing back a veteran producer to help fight allegations of “bias” amid a lawsuit with Donald Trump that could complicate its corporate owner’s multi-billion dollar sale.

Susan Zirinsky, who inspired the virtuous TV producer character Jane Craig played by Holly Hunter in the 1987 movie Broadcast News, will rejoin as interim executive editor to monitor the station’s news output.

(L-R) Albert Brooks, William Hurt and Holly Hunter in  the 1987 comedy film Broadcast News.
(L-R) Albert Brooks, William Hurt and Holly Hunter in the 1987 comedy film Broadcast News. Bonnie Schiffman Photography/Getty Images

Zirinsky’s comeback comes after several controversial incidents by the network involving Trump and its own coverage of the war in the Middle East.

“While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns,” wrote George Cheeks, co-CEO of CBS parent company Paramount Global, in a memo to CBS News staffers sent on Monday, Variety reports.

“This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage,” he wrote.

The first priority for Zirinsky may be to look closely at the network’s 60 Minutes program, which is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Trump in November seeking $10 billion from the broadcaster.

Trump’s lawsuit alleges that an interview with Kamala Harris on Oct. 6 misled voters in the 2024 election campaign and that CBS News edited clips to boost Harris, which the broadcaster denies.

Zirinsky’s return takes place in the context of Paramount Global’s proposed $8 billion sale to Mission: Impossible movie producer Skydance Media.

Considering how vocal Trump has been about the output of media owners, it’s not a stretch to imagine that ongoing court action with the incoming president could affect how regulators look at the proposed deal which is expected to close in the spring.

CBS News’ coverage of the Middle East will also be an important area of focus for Zirinsky following a tense CBS Mornings interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates conducted by co-anchor Tony Dokoupil, also in October.

CBS Mornings Co-Host Tony Dokoupil.
CBS Mornings Co-Host Tony Dokoupil. CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

Dokoupil’s grilling of Coates—where he asked whether the author’s work “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist”—led to CBS News executives telling staff that the interview did not meet its standards.

That led to pushback from advocacy group the Anti-Defamation League and from CBS parent company Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, who said, “I frankly think Tony did a great job with that interview.”

Zirinsky has some experience dealing with difficult situations at the network.

During her tenure as president of CBS News between 2019 and 2021, the news division was under pressure in the aftermath of claims of harassment made against CBS This Morning co-anchor Charlie Rose and former 60 Minutes producer Jeff Fager.

Read it at Variety

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