Paramount just dropped a bombshell by acquiring The Free Press and installing its founder, Bari Weiss, as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, as the Associated Press reports, a move that comes in the wake of a legal settlement with President Donald Trump.
In a stunning shake-up, Paramount finalized the purchase of The Free Press on Monday and named Weiss to a freshly minted leadership role at CBS News, signaling a push for balanced journalism under the new corporate oversight of David Ellison following Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount.
Let’s rewind a bit -- Weiss started The Free Press after walking away from her gig as an opinion editor at the New York Times, citing a toxic environment of intolerance from colleagues who couldn’t stomach her views.
Since its inception, The Free Press has amassed a hefty 1.5 million subscribers, a testament to Weiss’ knack for resonating with readers tired of the progressive echo chamber.
Now, stepping into CBS News -- a storied institution once shaped by network legends like Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather -- Weiss brings a background heavy on opinion journalism but light on broadcast experience.
Ellison, who took the reins after Skydance’s buyout of Paramount in the summer of 2025, personally tapped Weiss for this role, and she’ll report directly to him while collaborating with CBS News' president, Tom Cibrowski.
Ellison isn’t shy about his goals, stating, “I am confident her entrepreneurial drive” will breathe new life into CBS News. But let’s be real -- entrepreneurial or not, shoving a centrist opinion writer into a hard-news outfit smells like a calculated pivot away from the left-leaning status quo.
Weiss herself seems eager to dive in, writing, “I want to hear from you” about making CBS News the most trusted name in the game. Fine words, but trust isn’t built on promises -- it’s built on ditching the woke narratives that have alienated half the country.
Meanwhile, Ellison waxes poetic about modernizing content, claiming, “This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision” to connect with audiences. Sounds great, but only if that connection cuts through the cultural fog of divisive “us vs. them” rhetoric he warns against.
Not everyone’s popping champagne over this shift -- some CBS News staffers are whispering about a potential tilt toward favoring Trump, especially given Paramount’s recent settlement with the president over a 60 Minutes dispute.
Add to that Ellison’s hire of Kenneth Weinstein, a former conservative think tank head and Trump contributor, as an ombudsman to field complaints about CBS News, and you’ve got a recipe for raised eyebrows.
Even Rather, who stepped down as CBS Evening News anchor in 2005, chimed in with a grim warning, saying, “It is obvious that there is tremendous pressure” to cozy up to the current administration.
Weiss calls herself a centrist, and her past writings -- like a 2021 New York Post column on fighting back against woke culture -- suggest she’s no fan of the progressive agenda.
That’s refreshing, considering a Pew Research Center survey from earlier in 2025 showed only 23% of Republicans trust CBS News compared to 56% of Democrats.
“I’ll approach it the way any reporters would,” Weiss wrote, promising an open mind and fresh perspective. If she can deliver on that while steering clear of the ideological quicksand that’s bogging down modern journalism, she might just turn skeptics into believers.
