Five years ago, Bari Weiss resigned from The New York Times, citing what she described as the newspaper’s “woke” cancel culture, and started The Free Press, a media outlet known for defending free speech and challenging the sacred cows of the progressive left.
Her decision paid off handsomely on Monday, when Paramount acquired the platform for a reported $150 million and appointed Ms. Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News, the latest sign of the network’s shift to the right under the newly merged ownership of Skydance Media and Paramount Global.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bari and The Free Press to Paramount and CBS News,” David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, a Skydance corporation, said in a statement. “Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News.”
He added that the “move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects — directly and passionately — to audiences around the world.”
Ms. Weiss, 41, called the move “a great moment for The Free Press,” which will maintain its own independent brand and operations, including reporting as well as video and audio podcasts.
“This partnership allows our ethos of fearless, independent journalism to reach an enormous, diverse, and influential audience,” she said. “We honor the extraordinary legacy of CBS News by committing ourselves to a singular mission: building the most trusted news organization of the 21st Century.”
In a memo to CBS staff, Ms. Weiss said she was committed to journalism that “holds both American parties to equal scrutiny” and “embraces a wide spectrum of views and voices,” which didn’t go over well on the left.
“Bari Weiss” was trending Monday on the left-wing media platform Bluesky as commentators ripped her hiring, calling it a “disaster” that has the newsroom “literally freaking out,” according to the [U.K.] Independent.
The network’s employees “worry that her role will bring a pro-Israel bias, more censorship, and lower editorial standards,” said Zeteo, the left-wing outlet founded by former MSNBC correspondent Mehdi Hasan.
Several of her critics accused her of being “conservative,” a label that doesn’t quite fit Ms. Weiss, who has described herself as a “radical centrist” and a “classical liberal.”
She’s also married to a woman, journalist Nellie Bowles, but Ms. Weiss’ high-profile breakup with The New York Times and her alignment with Republicans on key issues such as Israel, DEI and the transgender movement have made her something of an honorary conservative.
“Anti-woke, anti-trans, pro-Israel Bari Weiss will soon lead one of the biggest media companies in the U.S.,” said the headline in the left-wing New Republic.
Those congratulating Ms. Weiss included the conservative Media Research Center, which wished her “the best of luck in trying to bring back real journalism!”
“So BARI WEISS will be ’Editor-in-Chief’ at CBS News. Total panic inside, for sure,” said Tim Graham, executive editor of the MRC’s NewsBusters, on X. “Don’t expect CBS to become FNC [Fox News Channel]. But she is pro-Israel, unlike CBS foreign correspondents. And she is anti-wokeness, unlike almost all CBS correspondents. Any move toward the center will be hated!”
The move comes as part of a shake-up at CBS following allegations of political bias over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview last year with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, which resulted in a $16 million payment to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.
A “60 Minutes” executive producer resigned over the settlement, while critics accused Paramount of seeking to curry favor with the Trump administration as the media giant sought approval for the Skydance merger.
In July, CBS announced that it would cancel the late-night show hosted by anti-Trump comic Stephen Colbert, effective May 2026, a decision the network described as “purely financial,” but that critics on the left blasted as a sop to Mr. Trump.
Skydance is headed by billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who is friendly with Mr. Trump and a longstanding supporter of Israel. His son is Paramount CEO David Ellison.
In a statement on The Free Press, Ms. Weiss said that “[w]e would not be doing this if we did not believe in David Ellison, and the entire leadership team who took over Paramount this summer.
“They are doubling down because they believe in news. Because they have courage. Because they love this country,” Ms. Weiss said. “And because they understand, as we do, that America cannot thrive without common facts, common truths, and a common reality.”
Founded in 2021, The Free Press has 1.5 million subscribers, including 170,000 paid subscribers, according to Paramount.