Well, it looks like Anderson Cooper is done with CBS, and we might be too—if the drama surrounding CBS News keeps going downhill like this. After nearly two decades of stellar reporting for 60 Minutes, Cooper has decided to step away and focus on his role at CNN, where he’s been a staple since 2003. In his own words, it was a “highlight” of his career, but with little kids at home and the demands of a high-powered career, he’s choosing fatherhood over the grind of two big networks. Breaker first reported the news of his departure.
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It’s not just the kids keeping him from CBS. In fact, his departure coincides with some interesting changes happening over at CBS News. Last year, after Paramount Skydance took over, they brought in Bari Weiss—a conservative journalist and fierce gender-critical voice—as the editor-in-chief of CBS News. Talk about shaking things up! While Cooper has remained relatively calm, the networ itself has been rocked by layoffs and a rising tide of accusations that it’s becoming a little too MAGA-friendly for comfort.
CBS Under Fire, And It’s Not Just Anderson
Speaking of controversy, CBS’s latest brush with political drama came from none other than The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert. He accused the network of caving to the FCC’s “equal time” rule, blocking him from airing an interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico, a Senate candidate, for fear of facing political backlash. Let’s be real: CBS isn’t known for caving to pressure—unless it’s political.
Colbert didn’t take the ban lying down, though. He took to his show to skewer the FCC and the network that, apparently, has gone full-on corporate at the expense of free speech. To add insult to injury, CBS told Colbert not to even mention the interview, a request he gleefully ignored. As he said, “FCC you”—and if we’re being honest, we’re kind of with him. Colbert’s comments were aired on The Late Show in a segment where he explained how the network blocked the interview, which led to a broader critique of the network’s compliance with the FCC.
In fact, CBS News’s internal turmoil has been a hot topic for some time. Last April, 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens parted ways with the network, claiming he had “lost his journalistic independence.” Owens’s departure was just one in a string of troubling exits that signal a growing disconnect between the network and its longtime journalistic principles.
As if Colbert’s battle with his own network wasn’t enough, CBS’s editorial independence has also been questioned for its supposed right-wing leanings. Recently, they buried a story about Venezuelan immigrants who were sent to prison by Trump’s administration because it didn’t “fit” the narrative the network wanted to push.
So, What’s Next for the Network?
With Cooper leaving, Colbert fighting the system, Owens walking out, and CBS shaking in its boots under corporate pressure, the question is: is it time to follow Anderson Cooper out the door? CBS News’s internal struggles, political tension, and declining credibility are raising more than a few eyebrows, and if they don’t turn things around soon, they might just find themselves losing viewers—and talent—faster than you can say “equal time rule.”
Maybe it’s time to stop watching CBS and start tuning into more progressive outlets. What do you think, are we out?
Source: Variety, The Guardian