CBS Newss Independent Watchdog Stays Quiet Amid 60 Minutes Turmoil
When news organizations around the world have faced criticism, they have historically turned to specialists: ombudsmen, in-house critics empowered to investigate their employers’ coverage and report their findings to the public.But when CBS News appointed one last year, under an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission, it took a different tack.It tapped Kenneth R.
Weinstein to flag complaints privately to its executives, pitching him in the hiring announcement as “an independent, internal advocate for journalistic integrity and transparency.”As CBS News has been shaken by infighting between management and its star correspondents this year, Mr.Weinstein’s silence is being criticized by media experts.
They say Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, has essentially hired a watchdog who doesn’t bark.In the nine months since he was hired, Mr.Weinstein has issued no public statements about CBS News’s coverage or its controversies.
He has not issued any guidance or feedback in staffwide emails or memos, three employees said.He has told some employees that he is scheduled to work only one day per month, two people said, though one said he responded to queries outside his monthly workday.Most ombudsmen are much more public facing, said Jeffrey Dvorkin, a former NPR ombudsman who wrote the handbook for the Organization of News Ombuds and Standards Editors.
That handbook says ombudsmen should report to the public, usually in a weekly column or mutually agreeable time slot.Part of “stewarding public trust,” as Mr.Weinstein promised to do in his hiring announcement, is addressing the public, Mr.
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