Key Points
- Bari Weiss told CBS News staff the network must pivot from broadcast-first to a streaming-led future or risk decline.
- She called for rebuilding public trust and broadening viewpoints, with CBS News 24/7 as a testing ground.
- The message followed internal backlash over her decision to pull and later air a controversial 60 Minutes segment.
Bari Weiss issued a warning to everyone at CBS News on Tuesday: Television might be the way you make your living today, but it won’t be tomorrow.
During an all-hands meeting with employees, the network’s newly-installed editor-in-chief said CBS News needed to embrace a long-term strategy that viewed digital and streaming distribution of its news stories as the primary way most Americans will consume its product, despite the fact that traditional TV continues to financially support its operations.
“Our strategy until now has been to cling to the audience that remains on broadcast television. If we stick to that strategy, we’re toast,” she said, according to the network and multiple attendees.
Weiss argued that the newsroom must adopt a “streaming mentality immediately,” with CBS News 24/7 serving as a testing ground for new formats, shows and storytelling approaches.
Central to Weiss’ plan is an explicit focus on restoring public trust in news media, which she said is at historic lows. She attributed audience erosion less to technology or demographics than to skepticism toward mainstream outlets. She positioned CBS News as a potential home for politically independent viewers, whom she described as a large and growing segment underserved by existing media ecosystems.
Weiss told staff that the division must reflect a wider range of ideological perspectives and commission stories that “surprise and provoke,” including internally.
The meeting came about a month after Weiss made a controversial decision to pull a story from “60 Minutes,” the news magazine program that earns CBS its highest weekly news ratings.
The story, on an El Salvadorian prison called CECOT that has housed immigrant deportees under the Trump administration, was scheduled to air on December 21, according to promotional materials supplied by the network to local TV stations, affiliates and international broadcast partners. One day before the broadcast, Weiss felt the story needed more context, including a stronger attempt to interview someone from the Trump administration. Copies of the story began circulating on the Internet after it accidentally streamed on a Canadian video platform.
CBS aired the story earlier this month, but inside the news department, the damage was done. Some 60 Minutes producers, editors and correspondents voiced their displeasure internally; a few of those comments were made public via leaks. Sharyn Alfonsi, the journalist chosen to front the story on CECOT, and long-time correspondent Scott Pelley, were among those critical of Weiss’ decision.
Externally, viewers reacted accordingly: Ratings for 60 Minutes have declined each week since the CECOT story was pulled, according to an analysis of Nielsen data. To some degree, the network’s ratings are affected by seasonality — CBS competes with channels that broadcast holiday-themed programming around the same time that the CECOT story was set to air, and other networks like NBC broadcast premium sports in the same time slot as 60 Minutes. Adjusted for seasonality and live events, the ratings drop at 60 Minutes was still impactful, the data showed.
On Tuesday, Weiss apologized for the aftermath of her decision, saying she didn’t know it would cause friction within the halls of CBS News. But she didn’t apologize for pulling the story, and made no attempt to justify the decision, according to people familiar with the matter. She did promise to be more proactive, rather than reactive, when it came to future stories aired by 60 Minutes and other news franchises.
To that end, Weiss emphasized that the network needed to embrace some of its other news programs, including “CBS Mornings” and “48 Hours,” as a way to further develop news stories that catch the attention of the nation. Rather than allowing a story to break on “CBS Evening News,” Weiss suggested that a story could be advanced across multiple platforms over several days, giving audiences something new when they tuned into any program at any given time.
Weiss also said the network needed to evolve beyond the mindset of specific programs and time slots, and embrace the idea that consumers gravitate toward news across multiple platforms throughout the day. CBS News needs to be on those platforms, whether it’s traditional TV, streaming or social, Weiss said.
As part of broadening CBS News’ editorial aperture, Weiss announced the hiring of nearly 20 paid contributors across subject areas including national security, economics and culture. New commentators include former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam and historian Niall Ferguson. She also highlighted new reporting roles based in Kyiv, London and New York designed with a social media-first distribution strategy.
Organizationally, Weiss introduced a new leadership structure and talent operation. Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News, will take on an expanded role that includes oversight of business operations, alongside Chief Operating Officer Sam Siegel. A newly formed talent and brand team is led by former Substack executive Sophia Efthimiatou, with additional hires from Vice and Weiss’ former company, The Free Press.
Weiss’ tenure has been closely scrutinized since her hiring last fall by Paramount’s new controlling owner, David Ellison, following the company’s $150 million acquisition of The Free Press.
A former New York Times opinion writer with no prior television management experience, Weiss was brought in to overhaul a news division that trails ABC News and NBC News in ratings and faces intensifying competition from streaming and social platforms.
