As Bari Weiss Arrives at CBS News, Staffers Hold Their Breath for What Comes Next

The first place David Ellison went after closing Skydance’s $8 billion deal for Paramount Global on Aug. 7 was the offices of CBS News on the west side of Manhattan. In meetings with the journalists and staff there, he praised the legacy of the TV news division, once the home of Edward R. Murrow, and committed to investing in its future.

That vision, however, will be put to the test, as a long-rumored deal is now official, and the implications for the future of CBS News are consequential.

Paramount on Monday said that it has officially acquired The Free Press, the digital publication founded by Bari Weiss, and will bring her into the fold of CBS News. The move, which had been expected for weeks, is nonetheless being greeted with dread inside the news division.

Weiss will become editor-in-chief of CBS News, but will work outside of the current org chart by reporting directly to Paramount CEO David Ellison.

“I have to imagine she will be his eyes and ears inside CBS News,” one staffer at the company said.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bari andThe Free Pressto Paramount and CBS News. Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News. This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects — directly and passionately — to audiences around the world,” Ellison said in a statement.

“This is an important initiative for our company and Bari will report directly to me — leading the work ofThe Free Pressand collaborating with our CBS News team in the pursuit of making it the most trusted name in news,” he added. “We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home.”

“This is a great moment forThe Free Press,” Weiss said. “This partnership allows our ethos of fearless, independent journalism to reach an enormous, diverse, and influential audience. We honor the extraordinary legacy of CBS News by committing ourselves to a singular mission: building the most trusted news organization of the 21^stcentury.”

The Free Press will remain a stand-alone business outside of CBS News.

According to one source, staff in the news division are more confused than anything by the hire: Weiss does not have TV experience (though her digital chops may be the more important skill given the trajectory of TV news right now), and her positioning of editor-in-chief is a perplexing one, with TV news organizations typically using a different organizational structure than newspapers or magazines where the title is more frequently found.

While TV news outlets have a central reporting structure, in practice each program is led editorially by the executive producer and anchors.

And they are perplexed by the hire of the contrarian journalist, given the kind words that Ellison said to CBS News staff the morning that Skydance closed on its acquisition of Paramount, where he pointedly made the newsroom his first stop of the day.

He also told journalists at a press conference later that morning that his intent was to maintain CBS’ legacy as a news organization.

“I think we want to be fact-based and truth-based as a news organization,” Ellison said. “That’s what we’re about, that’s the legacy of CBS. I mean, Edward Murrow founded this place.

“Fundamentally, we want to be in the trust business, we want to be the truth business, we want to be in the fact business,” he added, saying that they wanted to appeal to the majority of the country that “would define themselves from center left to center right, and really ensure that it’s a place that can be true to the legacy that we’re inheriting, and we’re going to invest behind that.”

In a note to staff Monday, Ellison wrote that while the media “was founded with the mission of informing the public and fostering discussion on the issues of the day, too often it has become a platform that amplifies the very partisanship tearing our society apart.

“I don’t pretend to have a solution to this challenge. But I do believe we each have a responsibility to do our part,” he added. “At Paramount, we have both a unique opportunity and an obligation as stewards of one of the most iconic and respected news organizations in the world. We are challenging ourselves to do better — recognizing that we have the ability to reach a broad audience and demonstrate constructive, respectful, and bipartisan dialogue in our own work. Our mission is clear: to ensure that this global platform remains a place where people can seek the truth, gain understanding, and engage with the facts. That is our purpose.”

How that squares with what Weiss will bring to the table remains to be seen given her well-known perspective on a range of issues, unless Ellison has other deals in mind with people who bring their own perspectives.

Also perplexing some staff is how she will engage with Tom Cibrowski, the president of CBS News, who remains in his role. That structure leads one high-level news executive outside of CBS to wonder whether Weiss will end up having more direct impact than some people think on CBS News’ output, or significantly less impact than people think.

The argument for her asserting control over CBS News: A powerful title and a direct line to the CEO (effectively bypassing all other executives in the CBS structure) could enable her to do things that Cibrowski can’t, or make moves that senior news executives or producers could otherwise block.

The argument against it: She is effectively cleaved off from the main CBS News org chart. The anchors and executive producers of CBS News programming report into Cibrowski, who reports into Paramount TV chief George Cheeks, who reports to Ellison and Jeff Shell. It may be hard to have meaningful influence on programming unless she can find a way into that reporting structure.

Still, in a memo of her own to CBS staff, Weiss outlined 10 core principles that she intends to bring to the network, suggesting that she intends to have a meaningful impact.

CBS News has been in the middle of a political firestorm for almost a year.

An interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of last year’s election sparked a lawsuit from President Trump, a suit that was ultimately settled for $16 million (or something closer to $30 million, according to Trump). And last month CBS changed its interview policy for Face the Nation after facing outrage over an edit made to an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the Sunday show.

It’s a situation that has left staff at CBS News anxious about what, if anything, Weiss will do to try and influence CBS News programming, and about the looming cuts that are widely expected in connection with the company-wide Paramount cuts, which are likely to happen next month.

And inside 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of CBS News, staff are holding their breath. The appointment of Tanya Simon as executive producer drew universal acclaim from employees, but the famously independent program (it has its own correspondents, producers and production crews, and works out of offices in a different building than the rest of CBS News) is gearing up for a fight over that independence.

Bill Owens, the show’s former EP, resigned after CBS named Susan Zirinsky to a role overseeing standards for all of CBS News, including 60 Minutes, in what was seen as an unacceptable change in long-standing protocol.

But one veteran news executive — someone skeptical of Weiss, it’s worth noting — nonetheless thinks that perhaps her addition could end up being a wake-up call that the news division needs. CBS Evening News and CBS Mornings are mired in third place, and have been for years. CBS News digital is in need of a refresh, with many competitors like NBC News and CNN pouring cash into forward-looking digital efforts. In other words, the status quo wasn’t good enough.

Whether Weiss is the one to be the change agent that CBS needs is a whole other story, but the newsroom is holding its collective breath to see what happens next.

You can read Ellison and Weiss’ notes to staff at the company below.

Dear Team Paramount:

I think we can all agree that the temperature of our nation’s social discourse feels higher than ever. Too often, the space once reserved for thoughtful dialogue has been consumed by partisan division and hostile disputes. If we are to move forward, we must find our way back to the ideals that shaped both our country and civilization itself: open exchange of ideas, vigorous yet respectful debate, and a genuine regard for the beliefs and traditions of others. This challenge extends to the media.

While it was founded with the mission of informing the public and fostering discussion on the issues of the day, too often it has become a platform that amplifies the very partisanship tearing our society apart. George Washington warned that the primary danger in politics is partisanship. Today, that danger extends far beyond politics – threatening the fabric of our communities. When we reduce every issue to “us vs. them” or “my way vs. the wrong way,” we close ourselves off from listening, learning, and ultimately growing, both as individuals and as a society.

I don’t pretend to have a solution to this challenge. But I do believe we each have a responsibility to do our part. At Paramount, we have both a unique opportunity and an obligation as stewards of one of the most iconic and respected news organizations in the world. We are challenging ourselves to do better – recognizing that we have the ability to reach a broad audience and demonstrate constructive, respectful, and bipartisan dialogue in our own work. Our mission is clear: to ensure that this global platform remains a place where people can seek the truth, gain understanding, and engage with the facts. That is our purpose.

With this in mind, I am excited to share that The Free Press is joining our Company. Since its launch just five years ago, The Free Press, under co-founder Bari Weiss’ leadership, has built one of the most dynamic news organizations in the country, one that resonates with audiences of all ages and perspectives. Guided by their core values of truth, balance, and an exchange of ideas, the team has made it their mission to help restore public trust in the news – and they are delivering real results. Their dedication to independent and fearless reporting has won the devotion of some 1.5 million readers – more than 170,000 of who are them now paid subscribers – an extraordinary achievement in such a short time.

As part of this acquisition, Bari will become editor-in-chief of CBS News. She brings a passion for reaching broad audiences through rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum. This, combined with her restless desire to build, believe, and innovate, makes her a perfect fit for our storied news division. In these early days working together, I’ve seen the Bari who you will get to know: a person of incredible energy, judgment, and perception for what will resonate with audiences. Working alongside our exceptionally talented colleagues at CBS News, she will help ensure that our reporting remains relevant, accessible, and – most importantly – trusted in this new era for American media.

I am confident that, in the coming years, CBS News and The Free Press will make big strides and be at the forefront of a much-needed transformation in how news is gathered, reported, and delivered. Our goal is to broaden our reach while solidifying our position as a leading voice in American journalism. Every step of the way, trust and facts will remain our guiding principles as we work every day to strengthen and deepen our connection with our audience. As a news organization, we serve a vital role in the lives of Americans from every background and belief, and we embrace that responsibility with the utmost care, integrity, and purpose. We aim to do our part in helping rebuild a society where our shared humanity unites us, and where our differences become a source of strength rather than division. We are here to achieve great things together. So please join me in extending a warm welcome to Bari and the entire team from The Free Press as they join us on that journey.

Let’s go!

David

Dear Colleagues:

I am thrilled and humbled to be writing to you as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Growing up, CBS was a deep family tradition. Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh. The opportunity to build on that legacy with you—and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it—is an extraordinary privilege.

Right now, I imagine you have some questions. I do, too.

My goal in the coming days and weeks is to get to know you. I want to hear from you about what’s working, what isn’t, and your thoughts on how we can make CBS News the most trusted news organization in America and the world. I’ll approach it the way any reporter would—with an open mind, a fresh notebook, and an urgent deadline.

What I can tell you on day one is that I stand for the same core journalistic values that have defined this profession since the beginning, and I will continue to champion them alongside you:

I look forward to meeting many of you in the days ahead and to listening and learning from you. I am profoundly honored to join you—and I can’t wait to get started.

With gratitude and excitement,

Bari