CBS News is now reportedly preparing to appoint journalist Bari Weiss as its first editor-in-chief after Paramount agreed to purchase Weiss’ media outlet, The Free Press, for $150 million, according to reporting from the New York Post.
Weiss, whose profile has risen sharply since her contentious departure from The New York Times in 2020, will report directly to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
In bypassing CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and CBS president George Cheeks — who traditionally oversee the network’s newsroom executives — Weiss is being positioned not only as an outsider but as a power center unto herself.
The deal, which combines cash and stock options, will allow The Free Press to remain independent of CBS News as a standalone property under Paramount.
But Weiss will also take over leadership of the CBS News division, giving her sweeping authority over its editorial direction. For a journalist who once described herself as hounded out of the mainstream press, it marks a striking reversal of fortune.
Weiss has long been regarded as a sharp and independent voice. Her resignation letter from The New York Times five years ago accused her colleagues of “bullying” and decried what she called an “illiberal environment” at the paper. Many conservatives saw her exit as symbolic of how dissenting voices were being pushed out of legacy media institutions.
Her return to the center of American media power is now framed by that history. Weiss has cultivated a reputation for openness to dialogue across the political spectrum, particularly through her podcast Honestly, where she frequently engages conservative figures who are often shunned elsewhere in corporate media.
The Paramount buyout and Weiss’ promotion underscore an emerging reality: the largest media companies are under growing pressure to diversify their editorial approach after years of catering to progressive audiences.
While Weiss does not identify as conservative, her willingness to critique the political Left has given her credibility among many on the Right.
“Though Weiss is not a conservative, she is friendly with many on the Right, often inviting them to come on her podcast ‘Honestly,’” the Post noted. For conservatives who have long felt alienated by network news, her leadership at CBS is likely to be viewed as a welcome shift toward greater ideological balance.
Bari Weiss to be named editor in chief of CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources https://t.co/8TPY1WjLXm pic.twitter.com/LUuFgHdEFE
— New York Post (@nypost) October 2, 2025
Industry insiders see Paramount’s gamble as both financial and cultural. The $150 million price tag signals a belief that Weiss’ brand of journalism — more skeptical of orthodoxy, more willing to challenge progressive dogmas — could be the key to rebuilding trust in a news industry battered by accusations of bias.
Her appointment also represents a bold acknowledgment of changing media dynamics. At a time when corporate outlets have been criticized for groupthink and partisan leanings, Paramount is betting that elevating a figure like Weiss will appeal to audiences beyond the traditional Left.
For Weiss, the move is a dramatic comeback, vaulting her from outsider to the commanding heights of a major newsroom. For CBS, it is a recognition that millions of Americans — particularly conservatives — are no longer content to watch networks operate as echo chambers for one side of the political divide.
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