Official: Bari Weiss To Lead CBS News

Paramount Global's CEO, David Ellison, is banking on Bari Weiss to transform CBS News with a $150 million acquisition of The Free Press, the news and opinion platform Weiss launched in 2021 to counter what she viewed as the media’s “woke” bias. 

Ellison has named Weiss, a prominent and outspoken journalist, as CBS News’ editor-in-chief, tasking her with shaping the network’s editorial direction.

Ellison envisions a CBS News that, combined with The Free Press, becomes a trusted news source for the 70% of Americans identifying as center-left to center-right. “We want to create a news organization that speaks to that audience,” he said in an interview. 

Weiss will also oversee a new CBS debate-style program, modeled after The Free Press’ streamed debates on topics like immigration and gene-editing ethics, while continuing her role as CEO and editor of The Free Press.Weiss, 41, emphasized a shared goal with Ellison for “news that reflects reality” and journalism that seeks to understand rather than vilify. The acquisition, announced Monday, involves cash and Paramount stock, though specific terms remain undisclosed.This role marks a surprising return for Weiss to legacy media, which she famously rejected five years ago when she resigned from The New York Times with a scathing critique, calling it out of touch with most Americans. 

Bari Weiss

She founded The Free Press with her wife, Nellie Bowles, known for the humorous “TGIF” column, and her sister, Suzy Weiss, a columnist. The Free Press has gained traction with its contrarian takes on politics and culture, often criticizing progressive orthodoxy and strongly supporting Israel in its conflict with Hamas. The outlet boasts 1.5 million subscribers, including over 175,000 paid subscribers.Ellison, whose Skydance merged with Paramount in August, began talks with Weiss earlier this year, with discussions intensifying at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, in July. 

As editor-in-chief, Weiss plans to take a hands-on approach, focusing on editorial priorities and delivering news that informs and clarifies a complex world. “It’s about telling people something they don’t know and helping them make sense of a strange, upside-down world,” she said.

Weiss will work alongside CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, who joined from Disney’s ABC in February. While described as partners, Weiss reports directly to Ellison, while Cibrowski reports to George Cheeks, chair of TV media. 

Cibrowski praised Weiss’s intellect and sees her appointment as a bold step to reinvent CBS News for new audiences, noting, “The status quo just doesn’t work.”Weiss’s arrival comes as broadcast news struggles with declining relevance amid competition from cable news, social media, and podcasts. Many view network newscasts as politically and culturally disconnected. 

For the 2024-25 season, CBS’s “Evening News,” alongside ABC’s “World News Tonight” and NBC’s “Nightly News,” averaged 17.8 million nightly viewers combined—half their audience from 25 years ago, per Nielsen.