What does Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison think about CBS News? It can be a bit hard to tell.
Speaking on Thursday, Ellison, whose newly merged company owns CBS News, expressed two sentiments that seemed at odds with each other. He praised the network while also saying it needed to build trust.
“I can’t say enough how much respect I have for CBS News,” he said during the media conference, Bloomberg Screentime, in Los Angeles. He went on to say, “I believe in the team of CBS News, and I believe we’re going to accomplish the goal of building that trusted destination for news immediately.”
Ellison avoided directly answering what issues CBS News needed to improve on while continuing to double down on an effort to stay above politics. He also dismissed the notion that there’s a plot to make CBS News a media arm of Trumpworld.
“It’s never come up,” he said.
His statements seem unlikely to satisfy news insiders eager for insight into the direction of the storied news network. Questions have swirled about Ellison’s politics and his plans, especially after he acquired Bari Weiss’ conservative-friendly The Free Press this week and installed her as editor in chief of CBS News, reporting directly to him. Weiss is known for her commentary on hot-button issues, while CBS News and other broadcast TV outlets generally take a more straight-news approach to coverage.
Ellison described The Free Press as seeking to get media “back to the trust business” and the “truth business.” He said the values of The Free Press were aligned with those of Paramount and the legacy of CBS News.
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His billionaire father, Larry Ellison, has long been an outspoken Trump ally, though David Ellison donated to Biden as recently as last year. Ellison hasn’t been afraid to wade into the polarizing political topic of the war in Gaza. On Thursday, he defended Paramount’s decision to make a statement opposing a boycott of the Israeli film industry. Paramount’s statement had led an employee group to raise concerns.
Ellison also reiterated Thursday that he wanted his news operation to appeal to the 70% of Americans who define themselves as center-left or center-right.
“We want to become the most trusted destination in news media,” he said.
What that will actually entail isn’t yet clear.
