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CBS’ Conservative Cop

David Ellison’s new CBS News ombudsman tried to erase parts of his digital trail—but a Status review of what remains reveals him to be a Trump-supporting advocate.

Oliver Darcy
Oliver Darcy

Sep 9, 2025

CBS’ Conservative Cop

David Ellison’s new CBS News ombudsman tried to erase parts of his digital trail—but a Status review of what remains reveals him to be a Trump-supporting advocate.

Oliver Darcy
Oliver Darcy

Sep 9, 2025

The CBS logo seen at the CBS Television City Studio. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Donald Trump “is the ultimate outsider.” He’s a “bold businessman who asks uncomfortable questions that typical policymakers are too squeamish to ask.” People “may dislike Trump’s methods, but they should appreciate his clarity about power dynamics.” And he has “set a standard in American policymaking of standing up for American workers and consumers.”

Those words aren’t from Fox News host Sean Hannity’s nightly sycophantic monologue. They come from Kenneth Weinstein, who lavished Trump with praise in a column published this summer. On Monday, David Ellison’s Paramount named Weinstein the new ombudsman of CBS News, charged with reviewing complaints about the news division. While Weinstein tried to sanitize his digital footprint by deleting his X account, the internet is forever and an online paper trail remains—one that is devoid of any journalism expertise, but reveals a staunch conservative and vocal Trump supporter.

Indeed, Weinstein’s late July column is hardly an isolated example of his pro-MAGA history…

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Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The Future of Fox: The future of Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing media empire and Fox News has been cemented. On Monday, the Murdoch family announced its long-running and high-stakes succession showdown had come to a close, with Rupert reaching a deal with his children that will hand the reins of his media empire to…

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Authors

Oliver Darcy

Jon Passantino

Natalie Korach

Brian Lowry

Status is the definitive nightly briefing that cuts through the noise to inform readers about what is really happening in the corridors of media power.

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