Bari Weiss appointed editor-in chief of CBS News
Jewish journalist’s outlet was acquired by leading US news organization for reported $150 million; move gives her control of storied programs like ’60 Minutes’ and ‘Sunday Morning’
Jewish journalist Bari Weiss, who grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated from Community Day School, said Monday that she has taken the helm of CBS News, in a major changing of the guard at one of the leading US news organizations.
Weiss said in an email to readers of The Free Press, the news outlet she started in 2022, “As of today, I am editor-in-chief of CBS News,” confirming recent reports that such a move was in the works.
In her position, she will oversee leading programs like “60 Minutes” and “Sunday Morning,” and play a role in “shaping how millions of Americans read, listen, watch, and, most importantly, understand the news in the 21st century,” Weiss said.
Weiss will remain CEO and editor-in-chief of The Free Press, which is joining Paramount, the parent company of CBS. The Free Press will remain independent, she said.
Monday reports said Paramount had acquired The Free Press for roughly $150 million in cash and stock.
Weiss, a prominent critic of the far left, has spent stints in Israel and wrote a 2019 book about combating antisemitism.
She made a high-profile exit from The New York Times in 2020, saying she had been subjected to bullying from colleagues who had called her a “Nazi and a racist” and complained about her coverage of Jews.
Before her role at the Times, Weiss worked at The Wall Street Journal. She has also worked for the Israeli daily Haaretz and the American Jewish newspaper The Forward, and held a senior editing role at the online Jewish publication Tablet Magazine.
She established The Free Press in 2022. Since then, the site has become a popular alternative to the perceived leftist slant of mainstream media outlets like The New York Times.
David Ellison, the head of Paramount, pitched Weiss on acquiring The Free Press in July, according to a report last month.
Ellison — whose father, Larry Ellison, is a co-founder of the tech firm Oracle and is estimated to be the second-richest person in the world, with a net worth of around $275 billion — is a film producer whose company, Skydance, made a merger deal with Paramount in July 2024 for $8.4 billion.
The agreement faced significant antitrust scrutiny; Paramount has been accused of settling a lawsuit with Trump — over a CBS interview with Trump’s 2024 opponent Kamala Harris, and the edit of her answer to a question about the war in Gaza — in order to appease the US president, whose administration had the power to challenge it.
Amid the merger and in its wake, Paramount has acquired rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for $7.7 billion. It also renewed the animated comedy South Park — which has been withering in its criticism of Trump and his administration — for $1.5 billion. PJC
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