Overview
- Letterman released a clip from The Barbara Gaines Show saying the network’s integrity was “trampled on” by the “idiots” now running CBS News.
- He referenced CBS’s storied legacy under Edward R. Murrow to contrast what he described as a collapse in standards.
- Criticism of CBS has escalated since Paramount’s merger with Skydance, with Ellison installing The Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief reporting directly to him.
- Newsroom concerns include a pulled 60 Minutes report on deportations to a brutal Salvadoran prison and a new tone on CBS Evening News under freshly promoted anchor Tony Dokoupil, whose early broadcasts drew pro‑administration complaints.
- Letterman also defended late-night critics of the president, praising Jimmy Kimmel and lamenting the pending end of Stephen Colbert’s franchise as evidence of shrinking space for dissenting voices.