Overview

• Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News as Paramount Skydance bought her outlet, The Free Press, in a deal widely reported at about $150 million, with Weiss set to report to CEO David Ellison and The Free Press remaining a separate property.
• On internal calls, Weiss told employees, “Let’s do the f***ing news,” and vowed to make CBS the most trusted news organization, a tone that some staffers described negatively in anonymous comments.
• Media analysts criticized the purchase price as an unusually high multiple for a digital outlet, with some suggesting Ellison’s interests may extend beyond pure financial returns, a characterization reported as their analysis.
• Weiss’s background is largely in opinion journalism with no prior TV-news management experience, and reporting highlighted that she previously auditioned to replace Meghan McCain on The View but, per Variety, did not test well with audiences.
• Paramount cited The Free Press’s scale — roughly 1.5 million subscribers with more than 170,000 paying — as part of the rationale for the acquisition, even as observers debate how Weiss’s editorial approach could shape CBS’s coverage priorities.