Overview

• Weiss asked every CBS News staffer to submit a memo by Tuesday detailing daily work, what is working or broken, and ideas to make the division more trusted and widely consumed, promising confidentiality and follow-up meetings.
• Her appointment follows Paramount Skydance’s roughly $150 million purchase of The Free Press, which Weiss continues to run, and she now reports directly to Paramount CEO David Ellison rather than a CBS News president.
• In her initial days she toured the New York and Washington bureaus and met with marquee anchors including Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell, signaling rapid engagement with newsroom operations.
• Veteran anchor Dan Rather condemned the move as a “dark day,” questioning Weiss’ lack of TV-news experience and warning that the Ellison reporting structure threatens editorial independence.
• Reaction has come from across the spectrum, with Salon criticizing Weiss’ track record on trans issues and Fox News noting CBS’ flagship shows had not aired the Jay Jones controversy through Thursday despite internal discussions.