Critics of CBS’ decision to hire New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat say he has no traditional TV experience. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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Ross Douthat isn’t afraid to try new things, and it’s led to a somewhat unusual trajectory in his journalism career.
In his 20s, he became a blogger at The Atlantic, which realized it needed to expand its online reach. That caught the attention of The New York Times, which hired Douthat as an opinion columnist in 2009 when he was just 29, making him the youngest writer to hold that lofty position.
Then, in 2025, he launched what’s become a popular podcast called “Interesting Times.” That no doubt helped him get his latest gig: as a correspondent at CBS News’ vaunted weekly news digest “60 Minutes.”
It’s an impressive résumé. Yet what I haven’t mentioned about Douthat is what’s raising the most eyebrows over the announcement.
He’s conservative. And a practicing Catholic. As an opinion writer and podcaster, he’s been open about both. And people are mad about it.
In a legacy media world dominated by liberals, CBS News’ decision to hire a conservative seems like heresy. But it’s not.
It’s the latest move by CBS News’ new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as she attempts to create a newsroom that better reflects the diversity of views held by Americans.
Ross Douthat is a conservative. So is half the country. Why does that matter?
Critics of CBS News’ decision to hire Douthat say he has no traditional TV experience. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And in the new CBS world, it’s a trend. In fact, Nick Bilton, executive producer of CBS News and Douthat’s direct boss, also doesn’t come from the television world. Neither does Weiss, who founded the online publication The Free Press prior to being hired to reshape CBS News.
But what’s really angering Douthat’s detractors are his faith and politics.
In a story about the hiring, a Daily Beast headline labeled him a “right-wing religious zealot.”
Margaret Sullivan, a columnist for The Guardian, opined that “he may not be a TV guy, an investigative guy, or even a news guy – but he is one of America’s best-known conservative opinion journalists,” sarcastically continuing that at the new CBS News under Weiss, “that’s the credential that seems to matter most.”
And a piece in Poynter suggests, “The hiring of conservative columnist Ross Douthat is likely to fuel concerns that CBS News is steering the storied newsmagazine to the right.”
Given “60 Minutes” has been rated as “skewing left,” why is that a problem?
Douthat is intellectually curious. That’s what matters most.
In announcing the hire, Bilton called Douthat “one of the preeminent public intellectuals in America today” – a journalist whose interviews with figures like Vice President JD Vance, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett make for “expansive and probing” conversation.
“He makes controversial topics approachable,” Bilton wrote, “and renders characters and points of view with richness and compassion.”
Douthat has spent his career writing for publications with liberal audiences, so he’s learned how to convince readers (and now viewers and listeners) who don’t start out agreeing with him. That sets him apart from the shrieking and preaching to the choir that constitutes too much of modern opinion journalism.
Douthat seems more concerned with seeking the truth and trying to make sense of the world than with owning the other side in an argument.
“As the world gets weirder, journalism needs people and institutions that sort of refocus on just saying, ‘We’re trying to figure out what’s happening here,’ ” he said in a recent exit interview with Times colleague Ezra Klein.
For those wringing their hands over Weiss’ hires, ratings will settle it soon enough.
Douthat faces an uphill climb proving himself to skeptical colleagues and viewers alike. But he’s built a career out of not backing down from a challenge. And that’s reason enough to watch what he does with this one.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques