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CBS News could be headed for a major editorial shakeup, with reports indicating that The Free Press founder Bari Weiss is set to join the network, and insiders are reacting with a mix of curiosity, caution and optimism.
New Paramount CEO David Ellison has long been rumored to covet Weiss and The Free Press, which she founded after dramatically leaving The New York Times in 2020. Puck's Dylan Byers reported Wednesday that "the two sides have agreed in principle to a deal" with a price tag between $100 million and $200 million, and Weiss would take on a role guiding "the editorial direction" of CBS News.
Weiss, who built her brand around the notion that legacy outlets suffer from liberal groupthink, is sure to shake things up. Puck reported the move "would inevitably inspire blowback from various corners of the newsroom," but not everyone at CBS News is alarmed.
"Maybe more free thought, free expression is on the way. Nothing to fear here," one CBS News staffer told Fox News Digital.
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A second CBS News employee said people have been sharing the Puck report internally but "nobody knows what it will mean or look like" once Weiss actually joins the network. They noted CBS News has "dozens" of middle managers and other editorial executives, and everyone is in the dark about how Weiss would work with them.
The employee did note, however, that CBS desperately needs to climb out of third place after years of its evening and morning newscasts finishing behind both ABC and NBC.
"I don't know much about her, but I think if she can bring more eyes to us or more revenue, I don't see how that's a bad thing," the staffer told Fox News Digital.
CBS News declined comment. Paramount and The Free Press did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Weiss famously ditched the Times with a scathing resignation letter in which she detailed bullying by then colleagues in an "illiberal environment." Her resignation letter addressed directly to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger sent shock waves across the media industry as she detailed a toxic work environment.
"Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery," she wrote.
Weiss launched the "Common Sense" newsletter in 2021 before rebranding it as The Free Press and expanding it into a full-fledged media company in 2022. Earlier this year, The Free Press touted having more than 155,000 paying subscribers, and Puck reported it was recently valued at $100 million.
A third CBS News staffer, before the recent reports that the Ellison-Weiss deal was on the "one-yard line," praised Weiss for having "done something amazing" with The Free Press and said her critiques of legacy media had resonated with them. They said Weiss would bring "a very strong critique of legacy media as it is" into the halls of CBS News.
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Not everyone is optimistic, as the liberal Status newsletter spoke to other CBS staffers and believes hiring the staunchly pro-Israel Weiss would "set off a firestorm inside the newsroom, especially over coverage of Israel and Gaza."
"Not happy AT ALL," one staffer told Status. Another said staffers would be "apoplectic" if they had to take editorial directions from Weiss.
Restoring the reputation of CBS News appears to be a priority for Ellison, who visited CBS News' New York City headquarters minutes after taking control of the newly merged company last month. He popped into an editorial meeting, toured the office and briefly met with CBS News executives, including "60 Minutes" executive producer Tanya Simon.
A longtime network news producer, who has worked at rival networks, believes Weiss should keep her head on a swivel because veteran CBS News staffers are "very good" at undermining new management.
"If Bari Weiss thinks the New York Times were bullies, wait until she shows up at CBS News," the producer told Fox News Digital.
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"They will eat her alive, backstab her, destroy her reputation and humiliate her," they warned. "Can you imagine her trying to tell Tanya Simon, whose father was held hostage in an Iraqi prison, how to cover Gaza?"
Ellison has not named a new long-term head of CBS News and has refused to comment on "rumors," although employees say they enjoy working with current CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who joined the company earlier this year.
Cibrowski was close with former CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon, who was pushed out ahead of Ellison's takeover. McMahon said, "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward."
McMahon was pushed out ahead of Ellison's takeover and said, "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward."
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It would be the latest tumultuous moment at CBS, which has already weathered the wrenching settlement of President Donald Trump's lawsuit against Paramount for an edited "60 Minutes" segment last year, and the announced cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
