Bari Weiss Unveils Sweeping Vision: “I Am Here to Make CBS News Fit for Purpose in the 21st Century”
Weiss rallied the troops and outlined her vision at an all-hands meeting Tuesday morning, naming a lineup of new contributors: “Our strategy until now has been to cling to the audience that remains on broadcast television. If we stick to that strategy, we’re toast.”
CBS News will undergo a radical transformation in the coming months, with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss outlining her vision at an all-hands meeting Tuesday morning.
Weiss delivered a PowerPoint presentation that outlined her view on the state of media and how CBS can remain relevant in a challenging time for broadcast news. She also noted the barrage of interest and press in her arrival.
“I’m not going to stand up here today and ask you for your trust. I’m going to earn it, just like we have to do with our viewers,” Weiss told staff. “What I can give you is what I’ve always tried to give my readers a a journalist: transparency. Clarity. Straight talk. So here it is as plan as I can say it: I am here to make CBS News fit for purpose in the 21st century. Our industry has changed more in the last decade than in the last 150 years, and the transformation isn’t over yet. Far from it. It’s almost impossible to conceive of how fast things will move from here.”
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss told staff to leave the company if they were unwilling to move forward under her vision as she continues to make the network more Trump-friendly.
The network has been embroiled in controversy since Weiss, who had no prior experience in TV news, was hired as its editor-in-chief after its parent company, Paramount, acquired her news blog, The Free Press, for $150 million. Weiss directly reports to Paramount CEO David Ellison, son of Trump megadonor Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.
In an all-hands meeting across each CBS News bureau on Tuesday, Weiss appeared to acknowledge that the network has had a poor public reception during her takeover and told staff to quit if they do not like her vision.
“Let me start by saying: I get it. I also get why, in the face of all this tumult, you might feel uncertain or skeptical about me or what I’m aiming to do here,” she said in prepared remarks.