Shari Redstone, the chair of CBS parent company Paramount Global, expressed satisfaction with the appointment of Susan Zirinsky as interim executive editor of CBS News on Monday — after the media mogul publicly criticized the network’s leadership last fall for its handling of internal divisions over its Israel coverage.

“I am pleased that CBS News recognized the need to take action to deliver consistently balanced and fair coverage,” Redstone said in an exclusive statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday. “We are fortunate that Susan Zirinsky has stepped into this critical new role on an interim basis. With her exceptional experience, I am confident she can move quickly towards ensuring the highest standards in reporting as the search continues for a permanent executive editor.”

The leadership change comes amid renewed accusations of anti-Israel bias at CBS News, whose flagship show, “60 Minutes,” has faced widespread scrutiny this week over a segment criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza. The segment, which aired on Sunday, has been denounced by Jewish groups and other critics as lacking balance and omitting key details about the conflict.

Representatives for the network have not responded to requests for comment from JI about the segment.

CBS News previously weathered controversy over Israel last October, when executives determined that an interview between “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil and the author Ta-Nehisi Coates had not met the network’s editorial standards — citing Dokoupil’s tone in a contentious exchange in which he challenged Coates on his criticism of Israel in a new book.

Redstone, for her part, said that she believed CBS leadership had “made a mistake” in reprimanding Dokoupil, arguing that he had “modeled what civil discourse is.”

“We all agree that this was not handled correctly, and we all agree that something needs to be done,” Redstone said last fall while speaking at a media conference in Manhattan. “I don’t have editorial control. I am not an executive, but I have a voice.”

A spokesperson for Redstone, who returned from a week-long trip to Israel on Monday, said that she was not available to comment on the “60 Minutes” segment — which has drawn internal backlash from some CBS News staffers, according to a Paramount employee familiar with the situation.

Redstone is now in the process of selling Paramount Global to Skydance Media, a Hollywood production company led by David Ellison.

In a memo to staff on Monday, George Cheeks, the CEO of CBS and co-CEO of Paramount Global, said that Zirinsky would be temporarily returning to the network as executive editor in response to concerns including “feedback regarding perceived bias” in some of its coverage. 

“In today’s fast-moving news environment, it is critical for newsrooms to quickly and effectively deliver balanced, accurate, fair and timely reporting, including highly complex, sensitive issues like the war in the Middle East,” Cheeks said in the memo, which was shared with JI. “CBS News takes this responsibility seriously. While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns.”

Zirinsky, who previously served as president of CBS News, will serve in the role on an “interim basis” as the network conducts “a search for a newly created executive editor position,” according to the memo.

The news industry veteran, who will help oversee standards at CBS, serves as president of See It Now Studios and recently produced a documentary about the Nova Music Festival massacre by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which is now available on the Paramount+ streaming service.