What is the credibility of CBS?
Executive summary
CBS News is widely viewed as a generally reliable mainstream news organization but is assessed by multiple media-rating groups as leaning left or “left-center”; Ad Fontes rates its website as “Middle” bias and “Reliable” on fact/analysis, while Ground News aggregates those ratings to label CBS “Lean Left” with high factuality [1] [2]. Public polling in 2022 showed 24% of Americans called CBS “very credible” and 37% “somewhat credible,” though partisan splits are large—about 22% of Republicans called it an “enemy of the people” in that survey [3].
1. Established outlet with a legacy and broad reach
CBS News is a long-standing network news division with flagship programs (Evening News, 60 Minutes, Face the Nation) and multi-platform distribution (television, radio, streaming), which contributes to its status as a national news brand and the frequent subject of media ratings and public polling [4] [1] [5].
2. Independent rating organizations find it generally reliable but slightly left-leaning
Ad Fontes Media’s evaluation places the CBS News website in the “Middle” bias category and rates its reporting “Reliable” for analysis and fact reporting, indicating methodological reviewers see substantive factual reporting even while recognizing some editorial choices that temper neutrality [1]. Media aggregators such as Ground News synthesize those ratings and label CBS “Lean Left” while giving it a high factuality score, showing consensus among some watchdogs that CBS errs modestly toward liberal perspectives yet maintains factual reporting standards [2].
3. Public trust is mixed and politically polarized
Nationwide polling reported by Statista (Morning Consult data, Feb 2022) found a majority of voters judged CBS credible—24% “very credible” and 37% “somewhat credible”—but partisan attitudes diverge sharply: a substantial minority of Republicans viewed CBS as hostile to the country while Democrats were far more trusting [3]. That polling underscores the wider U.S. environment in which news credibility is heavily filtered through political identity [3].
4. Watchdogs and local affiliates show similar patterns
Media Bias/Fact Check rates local CBS New York operations as “Left-Center” biased yet “High” for factual reporting, mirroring national ratings that separate political tilt from factual accuracy; the network’s local and national arms receive comparable critiques about slight leftward slant paired with solid sourcing records [6] [4].
5. Documented controversies complicate the credibility picture
CBS has a documented history of high-profile reporting errors and controversies—most famously the 2004 Killian documents episode involving Dan Rather—and a Wikipedia page catalogues repeated criticism and failures of verification across decades. Those incidents are part of the historical record that critics cite when arguing the outlet is fallible or biased [7]. Available sources do not mention specifics of how recent editorial leadership changes (e.g., personnel named in snippets) have affected credibility beyond reporting the appointments [4].
6. Third-party rankers and blogs generally affirm “good” reliability with caveats
Sites such as Biasly and others cited in the search results rate CBS as “Good” or “Reliable,” noting consistent factual reporting but also pointing to instances of selection or omission bias where coverage choices may lean toward one perspective [8]. Those assessments echo Ad Fontes’ “Reliable” designation while emphasizing the need to evaluate individual stories rather than assume uniform performance [1] [8].
7. How to interpret these signals as a consumer
Taken together, ratings and polls show a pattern: CBS is institutionally credible in sourcing and factual reporting according to multiple media-evaluation organizations, but it is perceived as having a modest leftward tilt and remains politically polarized in the eyes of the public [1] [2] [3]. For readers: rely on CBS for mainstream news reporting and investigative pieces, but cross-check politically charged stories and be attentive to selection and framing choices flagged by watchdogs [1] [2] [8].
Limitations and competing viewpoints: the sources consulted include media-evaluation organizations (Ad Fontes, Ground News), polling summaries (Statista/Morning Consult), local bias reviews (Media Bias/Fact Check), and compilations of controversies (Wikipedia). These sources disagree on the degree of bias (terms used range from “Middle” to “Lean Left” to “Left-Center”) even while converging on generally solid factuality; readers should weigh each assessment method and consult multiple outlets for contentious topics [1] [2] [6] [7].