Bari Weiss, the former New York Times opinion columnist who’s since built a career crusading against “cancel culture” and the left’s supposed excesses, will be CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, its parent company, Paramount, announced Monday.
Paramount, which was just acquired by Skydance in a Trump administration-approved merger, will also acquire Weiss’ Free Press, the publication she initially launched on Substack after leaving the Times in a huff in 2020, accusing the young “wokes” on staff of “bullying” her and silencing more conservative voices.
The Free Press deal is worth $150 million, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Weiss will report directly to Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison. Tom Cibrowski will continue to serve as president of the news network and report to George Cheeks, Paramount’s chairman of TV Media.
“Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News,” Ellison said in a statement.
“We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home,” he continued.
Meanwhile, in a piece posted on The Free Press’ website, Weiss described her outlet’s acquisition by Paramount as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“It gives The Free Press a chance to help reshape a storied media organization — to help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism,” she added.
Ahead of July’s Skydance-Paramount merger, which required approval by the Federal Communications Commission, Ellison’s company promised the Trump administration it would bring “unbiased journalism” and “diverse viewpoints” that reflect the “varied ideological perspectives of American viewers” to CBS News ― strongly indicating a shift toward more Trump-friendly coverage.
The company also said it would eliminate any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and install an ombudsman to monitor any alleged bias at CBS News.
Those promises followed Paramount paying President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit he brought against the company over an episode of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that he claimed, without evidence, was deceptively edited to flatter then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election. In the lead-up to the settlement, top editorial leaders at CBS News resigned, and Democrats urged Paramount not to settle, saying it would set a dangerous precedent.
Weiss’ ascension to CBS News’ top job is in line with those concessions. She’s railed against DEI, claimed the Me Too movement has gone too far, published content undercutting reports of famine in Gaza and conducted a friendly interview with Peter Thiel on her podcast.
Criticism appears to fuel Weiss’ rage. In 2018, when she was called out for implying that California-born Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu was an immigrant, she refused to apologize and complained on Twitter, now X: “For this tweet I am being told I am a racist, a ghoul and that I deserve to die.” The pushback, she proclaimed, was a “sign of civilization’s end.”