Key Points:
- Former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss has been named editor-in-chief of CBS News as Paramount acquires her digital news outlet The Free Press for $150 million.
- Weiss will lead CBS News and continue running The Free Press as an independent brand under Paramount.
- Paramount CEO David Ellison says Weiss will drive a “balanced, fact-based” transformation at CBS News.
Paramount Global has agreed to pay around $150 million to acquire the Free Press, an editorial brand that distributes a prominent Substack newsletter, the companies announced on Monday.
As part of the arrangement, Free Press founder Bari Weiss will join Paramount’s CBS News as its new editor-in-chief, pairing one of the country’s most-respected television news brands with an upstart digital publication that is known for challenging news media norms.
Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison said Weiss will report directly to him and lead editorial strategy across CBS News and The Free Press.
“Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News,” Ellison said. “We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home.”
Weiss will also continue as editor-in-chief and CEO of The Free Press, which will maintain its own independent brand and operations. Paramount said the outlet will continue producing original reporting, video and podcasts for its 170,000 paying subscribers and roughly 1.5 million readers.
“We’re a news organization, so I’ll get right to it: This morning, The Free Press is joining Paramount,” Weiss told subscribers in an email Monday. “This move is a testament to many things: The Free Press team, the vision of Paramount’s new leaders, and the courage of my colleagues to leave behind old worlds to build a new one. But, above all, it’s a testament to you, our subscribers.”
The move comes after months of speculation that Ellison, who took control of Paramount in August following its merger with Skydance, had sought to bring Weiss into the company. He said her leadership would help CBS News “be at the forefront of a much-needed transformation in how news is gathered, reported and delivered.”
Weiss, 41, is taking over CBS News after a period of internal turmoil. The network has cycled through five presidents in as many years and recently weathered controversy surrounding “60 Minutes” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Former “60 Minutes” producer Bill Owens resigned in April, citing concerns about journalistic independence, while Wendy McMahon, the division’s president, exited soon after.
Ellison has sought to rebuild credibility and audience trust, hiring former Hudson Institute chief Kenneth R. Weinstein as ombudsman and revising internal editorial standards. At a recent news conference, Ellison said CBS would seek to serve the “70 percent of Americans who define themselves as center-left or center-right,” emphasizing that the network is “in the truth business, in the fact business.”
Weiss is known for her critiques of media groupthink and her defense of free speech. She left the New York Times in 2020 after alleging a hostile work environment and launched The Free Press the following year with her wife, Nellie Bowles, and sister, Suzy Weiss.
The publication gained attention for heterodox reporting and commentary, including essays critical of DEI initiatives and coverage supportive of Israel during its conflict with Hamas.
In her note to CBS staff, Weiss acknowledged the novelty of her appointment.
“Right now, I imagine you have some questions,” she wrote. “I do, too. 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.”
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