Skydance Media chief executive David Ellison, in a bid to secure federal approval for his Paramount takeover, recently assured regulators that CBS would embrace recently viewpoint diversity and balanced reporting. According to a letter submitted to the FCC on July 17, Ellison told chairman Brendan Carr of his “commitment to unbiased journalism” and pledged that CBS’s editorial decisions would “reflect the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers.”
Ellison’s meeting with Carr came just weeks after Paramount and CBS settled a lawsuit from President Donald Trump over an edited 60 Minutes interview favoring Kamala Harris. The letter from Skydance attorney Matthew Brill urged the FCC to “promptly grant” the acquisition, highlighting promises of “promoting non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity at New Paramount.”
Carr has been vocal about concerns over diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at national broadcasters. CBS, meanwhile, has faced repeated criticism for slanted coverage, particularly on Israel. Last fall, CBS News reprimanded anchor Tony Dokoupil for asking tough questions of anti-Israel and critical race theory activist Ta-Nehisi Coates but ignored when Gayle King accused the father of a Hamas hostage of playing “politics.”
CBS’s editorial issues run deeper. Its Gaza-based producer Marwan al-Ghoul once praised a terror group’s “path of struggle and martyrdom,” and a 2024 memo instructed staff not to call Jerusalem part of Israel. Any shift under Ellison’s leadership could dramatically alter that trajectory. As Brill wrote in his FCC filing, “We discussed Skydance’s commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints.”
