CBS News announces ombudsman, fulfilling pre-Skydance merger pledge

CBS News has tapped the former head of a right-leaning think tank as its ombudsman.

Kenneth R. Weinstein, former president and CEO of Hudson Institute, will take over the role as part of a pledge Paramount and Skydance Media made before their merger was completed earlier in 2025.

“We look forward to welcoming Ken as our new Ombudsman,” Paramount President Jeff Shell said in a statement. “At a time when trust in media is more important than ever, this new role reinforces our commitment to truth, trust, and accountability. I’ve known him for many years and have great respect for his integrity, sound judgment, and thoughtful approach to complex issues. Ken brings not only a wealth of advisory experience in media and beyond but also a calm, measured perspective that makes him exceptionally well-suited to serve as our Ombudsman.”

Weinstein will report to Shell and be responsible for reviewing “editorial concerns raised by employees and viewers.”

Although officially non-partisan, the Hudson Institute is largely considered to be prominent in conservative and neoconservative ideology, though Weinsten’s former affiliation with the group does not necessarily mean his views align with it. 

Weinstein headed up the group from 2011 to 2020 and is currently serving as its Japan chair. He has also served on a series of federal advisory boards over the last four U.S. presidential administrations. He was also chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, now the United States Agency for Global Media, from 2017 until 2020, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama.

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“I am honored to serve as Ombudsman for CBS News, one of the most respected journalistic institutions in the world,” Weinstein said in a statement. “I look forward to supporting the talented team behind its reporting and to stewarding public trust in this critical institution.”

As part of the same pledge committing to hiring an ombudsman, Paramount and Skydance execs also said that CBS News would also showcase “varied ideological perspectives” while also eliminating key initiatives aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion. CBS has not made any formal announcement about efforts to increase its coverage across different perspectives.

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Although Weinstein has significant experience in public policy and authoring analysis and commentary pieces for major publications, he appears to lack specific traditional journalism experience. Although that is not a requirement for an ombudsman role, it’s likely the network will face some criticism for its choice — as well as its decision to go with a white male for the role, though selecting Weinstein does mean a Jewish American is heading up the network’s public editor functions. It’s not uncommon for non-journalists to serve as ombudsmen. 

It’s not clear who else may have been under consideration for the job or how involved new Paramount leadership was in the pick.

Having Weinsten report to Paramount’s head, as opposed to someone within CBS’s news division, could be seen as a way to create a “firewall” of sorts between the ombudsmen’s office and news executives.

Weinstein’s hire comes following a public change in policy for the network’s “Face the Nation” public affairs program to only air interviews either live or live-to-tape, with edits only be made for legal or national security needs. That move was made after the Department of Homeland Security lashed out at the network for editing out roughly a quarter of a Aug. 31, 2025, interview with Kristi Noem, much of which contained inflammatory and unproven allegations. 

CBS initially stood by its cut, noting that the entire interview was posted online in both video and transcription format, but reversed course after “audience feedback.”

Then-CBS parent Paramount Global also agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump over another accusation of deceptive or misleading editing. 

The suit, which had been seeking $20 billion, was largely seen as without merit by the legal community, but the network was reportedly eager to settle it to ensure its Skydance nuptials would not be delayed or called off by federal officials. $15 million of CBS’s payment went to a fund for Trump’s future library, while another $1 million covered his legal fees related to the case.

Before the settlement, there had been reports that execs within Paramount were concerned that a settlement could be seen as paying off a federal official, though there has been not further legal action related to that issue. The network paid the same amount that ABC News shelled out earlier in 2025.