Claudia Milne, who has overseen standards and practices at CBS News since 2021, announced her departure from the Paramount Skydance division Thursday morning, replacing digital’s Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, making her the first senior executive to leave the company since the former Trump adviser was named ombudsman and the news division came under intense scrutiny.
“We live in complex times – for our company, for our industry and for our country – and it’s times like these where what we do matters most,” Milne said in his farewell words to colleagues. “We believe that our role as journalists is to hold those in power accountable. We are here, on behalf of our viewers, to question and challenge our political leaders, whether Republican or Democratic, liberal or conservative…We must interrogate the social media companies that seek to control our attention, the companies that control our health care, the institutions that shape our education systems…and so much more.”
He added: “I encourage you to keep asking the hard questions, to challenge those in authority, and to keep your audiences informed. And I know you will continue to do so in the fair, balanced and unbiased manner that this organization has always had and is the cornerstone of good journalism.”
Her announcement comes as the CBS News staff has come under intense scrutiny following Paramount’s decision to place its reporting direction under the direction of Bari Weiss. Bari Weiss is a digital opinion entrepreneur whose company, Free Press, has gained traction among conservatives and political opinion enthusiasts, but she has no experience running a mainstream media organization. Weiss will report directly to Paramount’s new CEO, David Ellison, and CBS News President Tom Cybrowski is also working with her to implement the initiative.
CBS News has endured months of turmoil. Some of its programs, such as “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation,” have been the subject of complaints from the Trump administration, and two different groups of Paramount executives undermined the prestige of those programs by paying President Trump a $16 million settlement in what many experts believe was a flimsy lawsuit related to a “60 Minutes” interview with former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Two senior executives, former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and former CBS News and local station chief Wendy McMahon, left the company over disagreements over how the company handles these issues. Most recently, CBS News agreed to air only live interviews on “Face the Nation,” relinquishing the ability to edit out falsehoods or obstruction by guests.
Paramount drew further attention by appointing Kenneth Weinstein, a former adviser to President Trump, as an ombudsman tasked with overseeing CBS News’ reporting and adjudicating claims of bias. This decision could undermine the authority of the Bureau of Standards.
CBS News will continue to have executives overseeing standards and practices. Former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky has been asked to serve as interim “editor-in-chief” in early 2025, scrutinizing stories and journalistic practices. Al Ortiz, former CBS News senior producer and standards executive, said:
Mr. Milne has held a number of positions at CBS News since joining the company in 2019. He initially served as editor-in-chief of “CBS This Morning,” an iterative version of the CBS morning series that seeks to focus more attention on harder news. She assumed additional leadership responsibilities during the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 presidential election. In 2021, she was given the additional role of overseeing a new division dedicated to investigating misinformation and so-called “deepfakes,” or fake videos often generated by artificial intelligence.
Prior to joining CBS News, Milne was senior video editor at ProPublica and head of live TV at Bloomberg TV. She spent the majority of her career at the BBC, holding senior roles as a producer across the flagship broadcast and all digital and 24-hour news platforms.
Milne has deep ties to CBS News. Her father, Stephen Milne, worked for 30 years as an editor in the London bureau of CBS News, including more than a decade working for Don Hewitt, the original executive producer of “60 Minutes.”
“I learned from a young age what sacrifices you and your families make to do this job.” “He gave me a curiosity about the world and a belief in the importance of your work. I learned a lot at the kitchen table when he was home,” Milne said. It’s an honor to work with you, and I hope I can help make your work even a little better. ”
