1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I urge you to take immediate action against CBS News’ appointment of Kenneth Weinstein as ombudsman. This appointment violates the constitutional principle of press freedom and represents corporate capture of American journalism that Congress must address. Weinstein donated $40,000 to Trump and Republican groups in 2024, was nominated by Trump as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and led the conservative Hudson Institute while attacking “liberal media.” The ombudsman position was created solely to satisfy FCC merger conditions, not genuine accountability. Under this structure, editorial complaints bypass CBS News leadership and go directly to Paramount executives, effectively ending the network’s editorial independence. This mirrors state media oversight in authoritarian regimes, not democratic journalism. Congress must investigate whether the FCC’s merger approval violated First Amendment protections by conditioning broadcast licenses on installing partisan oversight. I ask you to demand immediate hearings on this regulatory overreach, introduce legislation protecting newsroom independence from corporate political interference, and publicly condemn this appointment. When billionaire donors can install political operatives to police American newsrooms, our democracy itself is under attack.