Overview

• Paramount announced it purchased The Free Press and named its founder, Bari Weiss, to lead CBS News, while the site will keep its brand and Weiss will continue to run it.
• Multiple outlets reported a price of about $150 million for The Free Press, though Paramount did not disclose terms.
• Weiss will report to Paramount CEO David Ellison and partner with CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who reports to George Cheeks.
• Paramount said The Free Press has roughly 1.5 million subscribers, including about 170,000 paid, and reported an 82% revenue increase over the past year.
• The move follows a $16 million settlement of Trump’s 60 Minutes lawsuit and the hiring of ombudsman Kenneth R. Weinstein, and early CBS reactions included staff concern and eye rolls at Weiss’s first editorial call.