Ex-CBS producer claims recent firings are racially motivated
In this DML Report…
Trey Sherman, a Black former associate producer for CBS Evening News+ and the network's Race and Culture Unit, posted a viral TikTok on Wednesday accusing CBS News of "race-based layoffs." He claimed every producer on his team laid off was a person of color, while all white colleagues were reassigned within the company. This followed sweeping cuts by corporate parent Paramount Skydance, affecting more than 100 employees across nearly every CBS News show and division. Sherman confronted the executive who informed him, who initially said he tried to relocate everyone but later admitted keeping those he had "worked with before." Sherman called the outcome "racist," stating: "If the outcome of that decision is racist, then the action was racist."
The layoffs dissolved CBS's Race and Culture Unit, which was created after George Floyd's 2020 death; canceled the streaming shows CBS Mornings+ and CBS Evening News+; folded CBS Saturday Morning into the weekday staff for reformatting; and shuttered the Johannesburg bureau, shifting Africa coverage to London. Sherman verified the racial disparity by asking white colleagues one by one: "Are you getting laid off?" All said no. Planning for cuts occurred months in advance, with decisions finalized before the new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, started three weeks ago. The executive told Sherman that layoffs were based on familiarity, not merit.
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The overhaul aligns with Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison's promise to dismantle DEI post-merger and Weiss's long criticism of DEI as "illiberal" and "anti-merit." Veteran correspondent Debora Patta, based in South Africa, was laid off after Weiss intervened to save Rome-based Chris Livesay, who appealed by noting his sympathy for Israel; Patta is considering legal action.