Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here’s what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
Paramount announced Monday that it is acquiring The Free Press — a provocative news site known for criticizing mainstream media and left-leaning «woke» culture — and installing the publication’s co-founder, Bari Weiss, as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News.
«As of today, I am editor-in-chief of CBS News, working with new colleagues on the programs that have impacted American culture for generations — shows like 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning — and shaping how millions of Americans read, listen, watch, and, most importantly, understand the news in the 21st century», Weiss wrote in a Monday letter to readers.
It’s a significant step in the meteoric rise of the 41-year-old journalist and entrepreneur, who spent years as an op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal and New York Times before her emphatic disavowal of traditional media organizations.
Weiss left the Times in 2020 after many in the newsroom expressed outrage over its publication of a controversial op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, in which he called for a military response to protests over George Floyd’s murder. In a lengthy resignation letter, Weiss accused her colleagues of harassment and argued that the Times was too influenced by its left-leaning critics online.
Weiss, along with her sister Suzy Weiss and her spouse Nellie Bowles, started The Free Press as a newsletter (originally titled Common Sense) the following year, calling it a «new media company … built on the ideals that once were the bedrock of great American journalism: honesty, doggedness, and fierce independence.»
The Free Press developed into a full-fledged media company in 2022, expanding its offerings into podcasts and live events. Its investigations and commentaries largely scrutinize political and cultural issues like gender-affirming health care, COVID-19 lockdowns, DEI programs and J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans views.
It’s where then-NPR editor Uri Berliner published his essay arguing the public radio network had lost America’s trust (he joined The Free Press as a senior editor mere months later). The publication, like Weiss herself, is also known for its staunchly pro-Israel views, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza.
The Free Press has built a sizable following. It has grown its subscriber base by 86% over the past year to a total of 1.5 million people, according to Paramount, and is backed by a slew of big names, including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
«As proud as we are of the 1.5 million subscribers who have joined under the banner of The Free Press — and we are astonished at that number — this is a country with 340 million people. We want our work to reach more of them, as quickly as possible», Weiss wrote on Monday. «This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity allows us to do that.»
The Free Press says it will retain its own brand and operations. And, as NPR has reported, Weiss — who has no broadcasting experience — appears unlikely to run the news division at CBS News on a day-to-day basis.
But she will play a key role in shaping the network’s editorial direction, at a time when it is looking to expand its appeal among right-leaning viewers. When Skydance Media acquired Paramount, CBS’ parent company, in July — a merger that required Trump administration approval — it promised to embrace a diversity of political and ideological viewpoints.
