Overview of How Bari Weiss Is Changing CBS News
This episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour features David Remnick speaking with Claire Malone about her New Yorker piece, “Inside Bari Weiss’s Hostile Takeover of CBS News.” It traces Bari Weiss’s rise from an opinion editor at major newspapers to founder of the Free Press (a Substack-like outlet) and, after a sale to a media-owner group, to her current leadership role at CBS News. Malone outlines Weiss’s ideological posture, editorial interventions, management style, and the internal and public controversies surrounding her stewardship of a legacy broadcast news organization.
Key points and main takeaways
- Bari Weiss resigned from the New York Times in 2020 with a widely read letter accusing the paper of “woke” groupthink and describing herself as bullied for “wrongthink.” That resignation became the springboard for the Free Press.
- The Free Press positioned itself as a broad “big tent” publication for the politically homeless—from Manhattan readers to rural conservatives—mixing cultural contrarianism, skepticism of elites, and pro-Israel coverage.
- After investors and a media deal (Paramount/Skydance/David Ellison are involved), Weiss was installed to lead CBS News. Her backers give her relative protection and influence.
- Critics raise three main objections: Weiss’s lack of traditional newsroom reporting experience (she comes from opinion desks), the ideological slant she brings (perceived tilt toward Trump-sympathetic and pro-Israel stances), and editorial changes that suggest softer interviewing and different story priorities at CBS.
- Practical changes under Weiss include hands-on involvement in scripting and book-gutting guests for CBS’s flagship broadcasts, new hires from the startup/independent media world (e.g., Substack talent recruiters), and experimentation with form to attract younger or YouTube-native audiences.
- Internal morale at CBS is mixed: some see the need for modernization, others fear the dilution of conventional reporting standards. Public mockery (e.g., Golden Globes jokes) and pointed criticisms from other conservative media figures (e.g., Tucker Carlson) reflect both sides of the cultural fight.
Background and biography (brief)
- Bari Weiss grew up in Pittsburgh (Squirrel Hill), spent time in Israel, attended Columbia, and first gained attention via activism and op-eds around campus Israel controversies.
- She rose through opinion desks at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, becoming known for contrarian commentary on identity politics, cancel culture, and “woke” orthodoxy.
- Her resignation from the New York Times catalyzed her Substack and the founding of the Free Press, which drew financial backing and then was acquired as part of a larger media deal that led to her role with CBS News.
The Free Press: positioning and editorial line
- Audience strategy: deliberately broad—aiming to capture readers across ideological lines described as “politically homeless.”
- Editorial posture: contrarian, heterodox in cultural debates, skeptical of elites and mainstream media narratives. During the 2024 cycle and post-2024, coverage skewed more sympathetic to Trump; Gaza coverage became markedly pro-Israel and critical of mainstream media’s framing.
- Business + principle: Malone frames the Free Press as both a mission-driven editorial project and a commercial play to reach an underserved, cross-cutting audience.
What Weiss is changing at CBS News
- Scale shift: she moved from running a ~60-person startup to leading an organization of roughly 1,300 employees within a large corporate portfolio—creating managerial and cultural mismatch risks.
- Editorial intervention: hands-on editing of evening newscast scripts, guest bookings, and the stated goal of moving the “40-yard line” of acceptable debate—i.e., broadening what is considered mainstream discourse.
- Programming choices: critics point to softer interviews with administration allies and varied coverage priorities (less emphasis on traditional beat reporting, more on culture and populist perspectives). Examples in Malone’s reporting include disputed editorial choices and segments that some journalists regard as insufficiently rigorous.
- Talent and format: hires from platforms like Substack and an emphasis on styles that may appeal to social-video audiences (YouTube-native formats, more outspoken correspondents).
Reactions and controversies
- Media and peer responses: polarization—some welcome attempts to modernize and diversify perspectives; many journalists worry about eroding norms of impartial broadcast journalism.
- High-profile criticism: Tucker Carlson verbally attacked Weiss; the Golden Globes host publicly mocked CBS News under Weiss; internal CBS staff reported low morale and unease with rapid changes.
- Concerns about independence: Weiss is closely associated with owners who wanted the broader media package; questions remain about editorial influence from ownership and how that shapes news judgment.
- Journalistic standards: repeated critiques focus on whether evening network news should be treated as opinionated “big tent” content or remain a standards-driven news broadcast.
Notable quotes and frames
- From Weiss’s resignation: she said she was bullied for “forays into wrongthink,” invoking Orwellian imagery to describe workplace pressure.
- Tucker Carlson (as cited in the episode) attacked Weiss’s qualifications and demeaned her publicly, illustrating rifts within conservative media over her approach.
- Malone’s framing: Weiss is energetic, a strong networker, a cultural contrarian who now faces the challenge of translating startup-style editorial instincts to a legacy broadcast newsroom.
Implications — what to watch next
- Monitor CBS’s evening news for ongoing format and tone changes (story selection, interview rigor, and guest diversity).
- Watch coverage of the Middle East and of Trump-related stories for editorial slant or changes in sourcing and framing.
- Track staff turnover, morale, and any public resignations or whistleblower accounts from CBS journalists—these will be leading indicators of institutional strain.
- Observe ratings and audience composition: will attempts to attract younger or ideologically mixed viewers produce sustainable growth or alienate legacy audiences?
- Note owner influence: how Ellison/Skydance/Paramount priorities play into editorial freedom and long-term strategy.
Bottom line
Claire Malone’s reporting presents Bari Weiss as a figure who successfully converted a viral resignation into a media platform and then leveraged investor backing to reposition a major news brand. The move exposes tensions between startup-style contrarianism and traditional broadcast journalism norms. The result is experimentation and controversy: potential audience rewards exist, but so do risks to newsroom standards, morale, and public trust.