By The mainstream media is about to experience an earthquake. CBS News is bracing for a seismic shake-up. Paramount Skydance, fresh off its acquisition spree, is preparing to name Bari Weiss—the 41-year-old founder of The Free Press and former New York Times opinion editor—as editor in chief. The move coincides with Paramount’s $150 million purchase of Weiss’s outlet, a package of cash, stock, and performance incentives that will fold the site into its corporate orbit.
The announcement could come as early as Monday, though sources close to the negotiations caution that the timing is still fluid, according to The New York Post. Under the arrangement, Weiss will report directly to Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison, skipping traditional lines of authority and positioning herself to exert sweeping influence over a network that has struggled to match rivals in ratings.
Her role alongside current CBS News president Tom Cibrowski remains undefined. Cibrowski, a veteran of “Good Morning America,” answers to Paramount TV media chair George Cheeks. But the very structure suggests possible friction. “Bari is extremely ambitious. Tom had better watch out,” one source warned.
The New York Times writes that he Free Press publishes a heterodox mix of opinion columns and original journalism. Frequent themes include the excess of the “woke left” and the perceived biases of traditional media organizations.
Ms. Weiss co-founded The Free Press in 2021 after quitting The New York Times, where she worked for the opinion section, saying she was leaving because of an “illiberal environment.” The Free Press has amassed roughly 1.5 million free and paid subscribers with reporting and opinionated essays on business, politics and international affairs.
The prospective arrival of Ms. Weiss is another twist in a tumultuous year at CBS News. President Trump sued Paramount over a “60 Minutes” interview last October with Kamala Harris, who was vice president and his electoral opponent, accusing the show of distorting her remarks to present her in a more favorable light.
Tensions at the news division escalated as Paramount entered into mediation with Mr. Trump to settle the lawsuit. Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” stepped down, citing encroachments on his journalistic independence. Wendy McMahon, the president of the division, was forced out soon after.
The Free Press will continue to operate as a distinct entity under Paramount ownership, though future digital integration with CBS is possible, according to reports. Weiss’s broader media ventures—her podcast “Honestly with Bari Weiss” and her columns—could migrate into CBS branding, but details remain unsettled.
The network is still emerging from turbulence. Last year, it resolved a $16 million lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” segment featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. While denying wrongdoing, Paramount settled—and Ellison reportedly offset the deal by buying $20 million in advertising favorable to Trump’s agenda.
Weiss’s appointment marks a sharp break from CBS’s old guard—a gamble on an editor who thrives on controversy. The question looming over West 57th Street: will this gamble remake CBS News, or blow it apart? One thing is certain—if the network hopes to survive, it must abandon its liberal bias and restore the balance that viewers have long demanded.
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