What’s at the heart of the contemporary journalism organization of 2025: Hot take or hot news?
Paramount appears to be poised to choose one over one when it comes to CBS News. The company is in talks with Bari Weiss, founder of the successful online outlet The Free Press, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, which could allow a large media conglomerate to purchase Weiss’s company and award senior-level positions at the former home of Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow.
problem? Well, there are a lot. Weiss’ writing has been praised by people in the field, but her insight in analyzing topics and expressing her opinions doesn’t necessarily mean she is qualified to run a large, mainstream news organization. Key CBS news requires expertise using visual products. Not only do they manage the staff of journalists around the world, they also have security and transportation needs. And perhaps more than anything, it maintains the wide range of attractions of venerable shows like “60 Minutes,” “Sunday Morning,” and “Face the Nation.”
Furthermore, Weiss struggled with some issues, including support for Israel, pointing to flaws in the extreme leftist view. There’s nothing wrong with tackling tough topics and devising compelling opinions on them. Unless you run a news department trained to avoid such things.
The deal injecting Weiss into CBS News will be some unorthodox alchemy. On Thursday evening, the Free Press front page featured a preview of the first novel by director, writer and comedian Woodyann, under the headline “Why do you hate Jen Z,” and an interview with journalist Andy NGO, who tracks left-wing extremists. But CBS News’ viewers are a long-standing feature that has swarmed segments like “On The Road,” sending correspondents Steve Hartman for heartwarming stories across the country, and asking for “Sunday Morning” interviews with longtime locker John Pogerty.
“This is like trying to cross a lion with a ferret. The offspring can be terrible if they can survive the pregnancy phase.” “A veteran journalist will leave CBS for a large group of people if this happens. I also think there is a real risk that CBS will lose its traditional core audience and kill such a respected brand.
Within CBS News, senior producers and rank and file staff are confused. David Ellison, who took control of Paramount via his production company Skydance a few weeks ago, has made the news division one of his first stops on Paramount ownership, which had been transferred to him from the former Custodian Redstone. According to two people familiar with the issue, Ellison praised the staff and the work they do, and expressed praise for both the news leadership and the journalistic process.
Since then, Paramount has done a lot to undermine the good feelings that could have arisen from that meeting. After a complaint from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Christa Noem, which came after several false or proven statements she made, the decision to refrain from editing newsmakers’ interviews about “Face the Nation” has been removed from what CBS presented in the air, and the people inside the company will be seen as accommodation created independently of actual editing standards. The naming of former Trump advisor and conservative think tank leader Kenneth Weinstein is also unsettling as an ombudsman who has a duty to handle complaints about CBS news reports. Such posts are usually not fulfilled by people who publicly support a particular political agenda.
Weiss states he is “glorious” and “provocative.” said Frank Cessno, former Director of CNN Washington, professor and director of Strategic Initiatives for the Department of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. Still, he says, “On the matter, what about Bali Weiss’ understanding of the work? Is she happy to do it? And is there an organizational commitment to doing independent journalism? He asks. In the early days of ownership of the new Paramount, Cessno says, “I am very concerned about the broader institutional commitment to what journalism is and should be.”
The new Paramount is, in a way, picking up other people’s playbooks. In 2017, NBCuniversal thought it could take advantage of the on-screen talent of Megyn Kelly, another provocateur who courted the central right audience. Kelly was believed to help NBC get favors to Republican crowds as President Donald Trump took office for his first term. However, NBC really didn’t know what to do after holding her Fox News favorite. The NBC News program’s audience is a much broader demographic than the tuning of Fox News and didn’t know much about Kelly.
Plus, Kelly was scrutinized infinitely, from the subject of her news magazine statement to the on-air explosion of Jane Fonda, to how she danced with Hoda Kotz one day. Her arrival brought NBC to a circus that never left the road. As the relationship between anchor and media owners became more tense, the segment on people wearing “blackface” on Halloween turned out to be aggressive, spurring NBC to cancel their morning program.
“Why are you entering mainstream media now?” Kelly recently asked about the digital program she controls. “I don’t understand allure. I really don’t understand the appeal of going to a TV network. That’s not the Bali background,” she said. Kelly would know.
Paramount could face other unique issues with Weiss’ employment. She is a public figure. Most newsroom chiefs are away from camera life and do not host lively podcasts or contribute painful opinions columns. Weiss’ activities in these areas will open up CBS News to new claims of bias if they continue. Will CBS News report the facts or frame it for a previous position expressed by one of the most senior editorial executives? Her past work would do the same. “She was a partisan in the media,” Cessno says. “It presents a conflict of interest.”
Paramount has a reason to tinker with CBS News. Two of the flagship programs, “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News,” have long lived in third place, handing down critical viewers to NBC and ABC. At the same time, the news division will create a killer Sunday lineup of TVs: “Face the Nation,” “Sunday Morning,” and “60 Minutes.” These programs are some of the most viewed non-sports offerings in the media and can undermine their credibility, which could lead to a decline in audiences just like advertising dollars.
Paramount CEO David Ellison recently proposed to imagine a news department that “can talk to the largest audience possible.” However, recent reports show that Weiss’ Free Press has approximately 1.5 million subscribers overall. This does not divide the number of wages for access to that content.
On TV, that number cancels most programs. In fact, even third place, CBS Evening News, which has seen a decline in viewers since overhauling a familiar format earlier this year, attracted an average of 3.87 million viewers last week. Meanwhile, “60 Minutes” sought an average audience of nearly 8.6 million viewers in recent seasons.
In recent years, many billionaires have been tinkering with mainstream news properties, and some efforts have made the assets worse than when they first began. The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times suffered from reputational hits as layoffs and distribution declined under the support of Jeff Bezos and Patrick Snion, and owners ruined the journalistic independence of their property.
Meanwhile, CBS News in its current state enjoys some of the broadest support among people who trust mainstream news organizations. According to the Pew Research Center, 51% of TrustCBS News, among US adults who have at least some degree of trust in the information they get from news organizations around the country. Only ABC News and NBC News have more trust among this group, with CBS News being comparable to both CNN and PBS.
Obviously there is room for improvement. It is probably a wider distribution that CBS News can use. It is no secret that in 1994, CBS handed over eight affiliates when it lost FOX’s NFL rights the previous year. This has crimped the network’s ability to compete more directly with NBC and ABC in several ways. That said, CBS boasts many No. 1 programs in its Primetime and Sunday lineup. It is also a “Late Show” hosted by Stephen Colbert. Paramount cancelled the program in May, and CBS executives say the economics of the program can no longer be maintained, but the results of that decision have yet to be seen.
If Ellison wants to spend a lot of money on improving Paramount’s scaffolding, they can try and get a new station. This may be a more reliable way to add a linear distribution of CBS News. Sinclair Inc., one of the nation’s largest station owners, said in August it would review broadcast assets that could lead to potential sales in other transactions. Another large station owner, Nexstar, has bid to get Tegna. Obviously the market is hot.
Riding Weiss as the editor’s leader might warm things up, but the idea isn’t guaranteed to succeed. If Paramount is leaning in the current Journalism Treaty and is looking for a Firebrand to play conservatives against liberals and vice versa, they will certainly attract more attention, but they will suffer constant leaks and staff exile.
Bali Weiss knows how to make headlines, but are they the kinds that attract a wide range of viewers? And do you care about Paramount?
