CBS News London Bureau Chief Claire Day has left her position following internal disputes over the network’s reporting on Israel. The move comes as CBS introduces a new foreign editor, Shayndi Raice—formerly of The Wall Street Journal—to oversee international coverage starting May 11.
A CBS source noted that the replacement “has no previous television experience and very little managerial experience—certainly on the scale required.”
According to insiders, Day, who has worked at CBS News for two decades, had been advocating for balanced coverage in response to editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s calls regarding perceived biases in reporting on Israel and the Middle East. A cameraman and editor in contact with Weiss accused Day of running the London bureau “like a Hamas cell.”
An internal investigation cleared Day of bias allegations.
A CBS insider described Day as “the most committed soldier to CBS News for nearly a quarter of a century… For Bari and [CBS News President] Tom Cibrowski to discard her because she failed some undefined purity test is appalling.”
The leadership transition raises questions about CBS News’ editorial independence in reporting on Israel’s military actions in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and other states and territories.
In March, Weiss and Cibrowski announced major layoffs at CBS, including the shutdown of its radio division after almost a century of operation. They stated: “It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it.”
