Susan Zirinsky returns to CBS News in standards role

By Michael P. Hill January 14, 2025

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CBS News has brought longtime editorial staffer Susan Zirinsky back to work as an interim executive editor for standards after a series of embarrassing incidents at the network.

Zirinsky spent decades at CBS News, including in various senior leadership roles, eventually rising to president of the division in 2019. She left that role in 2021 and went on to lead See It Now Studios, which is part of CBS parent Paramount Global.

During an undetermined amount of time, Zirinsky will help lead the network’s existing standards department, which is tasked with monitoring journalist practices and vetting the network’s reporting, among other duties. CBS News, like other major networks, has long maintained such a department and has had senior managers to lead it, but appears to have specifically created this new role within its corporate structure.

The network says it hopes to eventually fill the position permanently. The division’s standards department will report directly to the position.

Zirinsky’s journalistic experience is likely to prove helpful at the network, which has come under fire recently, including two incidents involving perceived bias in its reporting on Middle East issues.

“In today’s fast-moving news environment, it is critical for newsrooms to quickly and effectively deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting, including highly complex, sensitive issues like the war in the Middle East. CBS News takes this responsibility seriously,” wrote Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks in a memo. “While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns. This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage. We cannot let this negatively affect our legacy or our future, our mission or our connection to our viewers.”

In November 2024, the network was sued by Donald Trump after “Face the Nation” aired a preview of a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump took issue with the fact that the preview segment featured a longer version of one of Harris’ statements that ultimately aired on “60 Minutes,” which he views as deceptive editing. The network has requested the case be dismissed.

The network also came under fire in October 2024 over an interview “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil conducted with an author over Israel. The network later announced that the report did not meet its own journalistic standards. 

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Most recently, the network’s Jan. 12, 2025, edition of “60 Minutes” has been accused of biased reporting in a segment on the U.S.’s role of the war between Israel and Hamas. 

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