CBS News Names Bari Weiss Editor-In-Chief
CBS recording segment on US military. Source: United States Navy Band on Flickr
On Oct. 6, Paramount named Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. This announcement came shortly after Paramount acquired Weiss’s media company, The Free Press.
Weiss is a journalist and commentator known for her critique of traditional news organizations and for her views on progressive movements and what she calls “woke culture.”
The move comes as traditional networks like CBS continue to face growing competition from digital-first outlets and independent journalists, like Axios. By bringing on Weiss, Paramount is signaling an effort to appeal to the younger generation of more skeptical news readers.
Weiss left the New York Times in 2020 following the release of an op-ed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas in which he called for a military response to protests over George Floyd’s murder. The article faced harsh criticism and dismay from the public and from Weiss’s colleagues in the newsroom, causing her to resign. In her resignation letter, she accused her colleagues at The Times of harassment and claimed that the publication was becoming increasingly left-leaning.
After leaving the Times, Weiss launched an independent media company known as The Free Press. What originally started as a Substack blog has bloomed into a platform with nearly 1.5 million subscribers. The articles and work featured on the website offer independent perspectives on a diverse range of topics.
Since its purchase by Paramount, it has been announced that Weiss will continue to serve as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Free Press as she steps into her role at CBS.
At CBS, Weiss will report to David Ellison, CEO of Paramount & Skydance, rather than to the president of CBS News, a change that may signal what is to come within the parent company.
As editor-in-chief at CBS, executives have tasked Weiss with shaping editorial guidelines, reinforcing core values, and creating new ways to report and deliver news. Weiss explained her personal mission is to position CBS as “the most trusted news organization of the 21st century.”
Weiss’s appointment sparked concern within the media industry. While supporters view her as an independent thinker, critics worry that her political leanings may clash with the network's traditional newsroom culture. Although Weiss identifies as a “radical centrist,” she has become a polarizing figure for her views on progressive movements and the media.
Many worry that her position at CBS will blur the lines between commentary and reporting, a style common on her website.
Shortly after the announcement of Weiss’s appointment, Claudia Milne, the head of CBS’s Standards and Practices unit, announced her resignation. Her departure also coincides with CBS naming former Trump think tank leader Kenneth Weinstein as an ombudsman to address viewers' complaints of bias.
As CBS moves forward under Weiss's direction, we will see her approach to building CBS as a more digital and independent form of journalism and the impact it will have on readers as well as the industry.