The Writers Guild of America told union employees representing CBS News not to respond to an email seeking information sent to employees by Free Press founder Bari Weiss, who was named CBS News editor-in-chief this week, until CBS provides more details about the purpose of her letter, including whether their responses could be “grounds for discipline, dismissal, or dismissal.”
Free Press, which conservative Weiss launched in 2021, was acquired this week by CBS parent company Paramount Skydance. As part of the deal, said to be worth $150 million, Weiss will oversee editorial operations at CBS News.
Weiss told CBS News staffers in a memo Friday morning that she was eager to “understand how you spend your working hours and, ideally, have created (or are creating) the things you are most proud of.” She asked all news department employees to send me a memo by Tuesday, Oct. 14, with these details and “opinions about what’s working, what’s broken, what’s substandard, and how we can improve.” Weiss said all responses “will be kept strictly confidential.”
In an email to WGA members obtained by Variety, union representatives said, “We are aware that Bari Weiss sent an email to CBS employees asking them to provide information about their work and feedback about CBS News. Many of you have expressed concerns to us about the purpose of the email, and we share those concerns.”
The WGA email continued: “We therefore immediately requested that we provide you with information regarding the email by Monday. We recommend that you hold off on responding until we can share the information we receive so that you can make an informed decision by Tuesday’s deadline.” The WGA email was sent by Michael Isaac, director of broadcast/cable/streaming news, and field representatives Brandon West, Sophie Martin and Dana Trentalange.
Representatives for CBS did not respond to requests for comment. WGA East represents the unions at CBS News and CBS News Digital.
Weiss’ memo to the CBS News team recalled a program established by the Trump administration earlier this year by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by ultra-wealthy tech mogul Elon Musk. Starting in February, Musk required federal employees to submit a weekly list of “five things” they accomplished over the past week. “Failure to respond will be considered a resignation,” Musk wrote in a post on X announcing the policy. In August, the White House officially ended DOGE’s weekly “5 Things” email.
According to an email from a WGA representative, the union is seeking the following information from CBS:
Who received the email? Who has access to the responses provided by the employee? Is the employee’s response grounds for discipline, dismissal, or dismissal? Will the employee face disciplinary action if he or she does not respond to the email? What will the company do with the responses? Will the company use AI technology to review the responses? If so, what prompts will be displayed? What steps will be taken to ensure that the results are not discriminatory?
According to a memo sent Monday (Oct. 6) by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, Weiss will “ensure that our coverage remains relevant, accessible, and most importantly, trusted in this new era for American media.”
