CBS News employees have expressed a mixture of apprehension, scepticism and frustration following the appointment of controversial commentator Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. The network’s owner, Paramount Skydance, acquired Weiss’s Substack-based publication the Free Press in a reported $150m deal.
In conversations with the Guardian, six current network employees, who were not authorised to comment publicly, voiced their concerns. One staffer said: “A throwing up emoji is not enough of a reflection of the feelings in here.” Another described the appointment as “utterly depressing”, adding that Weiss has “zero experience in television news or even hard news … but with a clearly defined political agenda”.
Several employees noted the ongoing instability at the network, with one saying: “It’s been 18 months of lurching through reported mergers, legal threat, lawsuits, settlements, firings, yet another round of new leaders.” Another staffer said they were in “wait and see mode” but described the $150m price tag as “pretty indefensible” as the newsroom braces for fresh cuts.
Weiss did not attend the network’s daily editorial call on Monday, but CBS News president Tom Cibrowski said she would join future meetings. The unusual reporting structure, with Weiss reporting directly to Paramount CEO David Ellison rather than Cibrowski, has also raised eyebrows. A former CBS News insider said: “I am not sure there is any other network that has this structure.”
In her own memo to staff, Weiss said she plans to spend the coming weeks getting to know employees and hearing their thoughts on how to make CBS News “the most trusted news organization in America and the world”.
