History

Founded in 1929, CBS News is the news division of American television and radio service CBS. CBS News has multiple television broadcasts: CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, news magazine programs CBS Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours, and Sunday morning political affairs program Face the Nation. They also have CBS Radio News, which is broadcast on 100’s of radio stations in the USA, and a 24-hour digital news network, CBSN.

In October 2025, Bari Weiss from The Free Press was named editor-in-chief of CBS News. The Free Press is rated Right-Center biased.

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Funded by / Ownership

CBS News is owned by Paramount Global, which was formerly controlled by National Amusements, Inc., the holding company of the Redstone family. In 2025, Paramount entered into a merger agreement with Skydance Media, effectively ending the Redstones’ majority control. CBS News generates revenue primarily through advertising and affiliate broadcasting fees.

Analysis / Bias

Historically, CBS News has been considered a mainstream U.S. media outlet with a left-leaning bias in story selection, meaning it was more likely to emphasize narratives favorable to the left or critical of the right, while still maintaining strong sourcing and professional reporting standards. In the past, headline wording generally avoided inflammatory language, as seen in standard straight-news coverage such as Trump denies advance knowledge of son’s meeting with Russian lawyer. Audience research reflected this perception: a 2014 Pew Research survey found that 40% of CBS News’ audience identified as consistently or primarily liberal, 39% as mixed, and 20% as consistently or mostly conservative, indicating a more liberal-leaning audience at that time. Additionally, a Reuters Institute survey previously ranked CBS News #1 among major U.S. outlets for trust.

Following the appointment of Bari Weiss—founder of The Free Press, which is rated Right-Center biased—as editor-in-chief in October 2025, there are early indications of a shift in editorial direction. While straight news reporting on the website and broadcasts such as CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, and local reporting like Real ID enforcement is reshaping air travel and leaving some Atlanta flyers scrambling and Hegseth says he won’t release video of Sept. 2 double-tap U.S. strike that killed 2 survivors remains factual and largely low-biased, recent high-profile editorial programming suggests movement toward a Right-Center orientation.

A notable example is the prime-time town hall moderated by Weiss, CBS News Presents: A Town Hall With Erika Kirk, which drew criticism for allowing far-right Christian nationalist rhetoric to go largely unchallenged. Media critics and advertisers expressed concern that the program blurred the line between journalism and advocacy, signaling a possible shift toward values-driven or ideologically framed content under Weiss’s leadership. While CBS News continues to present itself as a traditional news organization, these editorial choices indicate an evolving bias profile that differs from its historical positioning.

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Overall, we rate CBS News as Right-Center Biased in this update due to emerging editorial decisions and leadership influence under Bari Weiss that suggest a shift away from its historically left-center orientation. We continue to rate CBS News High for factual reporting because its straight news reporting on television and digital platforms remains well-sourced, professional, and generally low-biased, with a strong track record of accuracy and no significant failed fact checks. (5/16/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 12/17/2025)

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com