Overview
- CBS Evening News announced a five-point mission that it says supersedes its prior 38-page ethics handbook, highlighting a pledge that begins, “We love America.”
- The statement describes America’s values as “the last best hope on Earth” and invokes Franklin’s “a republic — if we can keep it,” positioning the broadcast as a nightly conversation about the country’s direction.
- Journalists and commentators labeled the wording jingoistic or incompatible with watchdog reporting, with critiques from figures including Franklin Leonard and Chris Geidner.
- Raw Story reported an allegation that CBS recently blocked reporting on alleged torture of deported migrants at a foreign “mega” prison, a claim cited by critics as context rather than confirmed fact.
- Media commentary links the values rollout to broader questions about leadership and editorial direction, noting Bari Weiss’s involvement and Dokoupil’s recent remark that national media relied too much on “academics and elites.”