New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger delivered a scathing public broadside against CBS News on Thursday as he accused the network of reshaping its journalism to better “align” with President Donald Trump under its new ownership.

Speaking at an event hosted by Yale Law School’s Floyd Abrams Institute, Sulzberger condemned what he described as growing “capitulation” by major media companies to “placate” Trump in response to his escalating attacks on the press.

Sulzberger reserved his sharpest criticism for Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, whose company recently took control of CBS and steered changes inside CBS News by appointing Bari Weiss, a former Times columnist, as editor-in-chief.

Weiss has overseen a string of editorial and staffing shakeups, including elevating Tony Dokoupil to anchor CBS Evening News and taking a more active role in shaping 60 Minutes’ coverage.

“The administration has effectively steered a broadcast outlet, CBS, and a social media platform, TikTok, into the hands of one of the president’s wealthiest supporters – with a cable news channel, CNN, likely to follow later this year,” he said.

He continued: “Under this new ownership, CBS has already altered programming, personnel, and policies in ways that align more closely with the administration’s preferences. Dispensing with even the pretense of journalistic norms, CBS and its owners recently hosted a party ‘honoring the Trump White House.’”

Sulzberger broadened his attack beyond CBS, warning that parts of the media industry were retreating rather than confronting pressure from the Trump administration.

“Those who have settled winnable cases to appease the administration or advance their business interests,” he said. “Those who have transformed their editorial pages to placate the president. Those who have let the president rewrite their style guides, telling themselves it’s harmless to swap out the Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of America to avoid something worse.”

“Such capitulation, even seemingly small instances of it, serves only to embolden the administration to keep attacking the press,” he continued.

Sulzberger also referenced the Times’ lawsuit against the Pentagon over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and new press restrictions, saying some media executives privately urged restraint.

“Many of our peers argued that, given Trump’s frequent attacks on the press, this one was worth letting go,” Sulzberger said. “Several told me directly that they feared sticking their necks out would invite retaliation.”

“But rights are just ink on paper unless they’re exercised,” he added.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!