Weiss, The Free Press joins Paramount, CBS News in $150M deal

Founder of The Free Press and former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News on Monday, in a $150 million acquisition by CBS parent company Paramount. 

“The values that we’ve hammered out here over the years – journalism based in curiosity and honesty, a culture of healthy disagreement, our shared belief in America’s promise – now have the opportunity to go very, very big,” Weiss wrote in an announcement. “Most of all, it means working tirelessly to make sure CBS News is the most trusted news organization in the world.” 

David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, said Weiss will strengthen CBS News by modernizing content and helping with audience engagement. 

“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 in a statement Monday. “This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects – directly and passionately – to audiences around the world.” 

While Weiss steps into her new role at CBS, she said The Free Press will remain independent with the opportunity to grow faster within Paramount. She praised Ellison and his team for their “belief in news.” 

“They are doubling down because they believe in news. Because they have courage. Because they love this country. And because they understand, as we do, that America cannot thrive without common facts, common truths, and a common reality,” she said. 

Weiss addressed the question she imagined many of her followers would have: “Wasn’t The Free Press started precisely because the old media institutions had failed? Why flee The New York Times only to head back into another legacy institution?” 

She explained that “so much has changed” in five years with new “personalities and influencers” replacing “journalism brands.” She said The Free Press wants to grow its work to reach as many people as quickly as possible. She promised to “guide CBS News” to bring “the best of American journalism” to “millions of people.” 

Melissa Chen, contributing editor to The Spectator USA, said the two ways to fix media institutions is to build afresh or to reform from the inside, and Weiss did both.  

“The lesson here is that whenever legacy systems fail to serve the people, there are market opportunities,” Chen wrote on X. “Still, you need the right person with the right traits to build. From a humble newsletter in 2021, Bari built a thriving media company. Soon, she will oversee a media empire.” 

In its article announcing the news, The New York Times pointed out Weiss “has never run a TV network” and CBS News has failed to beat competitors over a “tumultuous five years,” with five different presidents. 

“The acquisition puts one of the country’s most traditional news institutions – the former home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite – under the editorial guidance of a journalist who rose to fame in part by critiquing old-line media institutions that she deemed timid and untrustworthy,” The Times wrote. 

Leor Sapir, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, praised Weiss’ capability to reform CBS News in a post on X. 

“It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of this moment for American journalism, trust in mainstream media, and by extension, the health of our republic,” he said. “So much now rests on Bari’s broad shoulders, but if anyone can do it, she can.”