CBS News staffers react to Bari Weiss being named editor-in-chief: ‘It’s utterly depressing’

CBS News staffers are coming to terms with the news that controversial commentator Bari Weiss is their new editor in chief, as the storied network’s owner Paramount Skydance acquires her Substack-based publication the Free Press in a reported $150m deal.

In conversations with the Guardian, six current network employees who were not authorized to comment publicly expressed a mixture of apprehension, skepticism and frustration over the appointment, though several stressed they wanted to wait to see what it would really mean for their network – and themselves.

“A throwing up emoji is not enough of a reflection of the feelings in here,” one particularly incensed CBS News employee said in a text message.

“It’s utterly depressing. Somebody who has zero experience in television news or even hard news for that matter... but with a clearly defined political agenda,” said another staffer. “It’s hard to see this as anything more than an attempt to bend the knee completely.”

They added: “It’s early days and we don’t know exactly how it’s going to pan out … or what she will do with her role, but she is the last person who should be brought in to CBS.”

“It’s been 18 months of lurching through reported mergers, legal threat, lawsuits, settlements, firings, yet another round of new leaders,” said a third CBS News employee. “Here we go again – having to introduce and prove ourselves to new leaders with more perceptions and less actual understanding of the ebbs and flows of this organization.”

Weiss did not participate in the network’s daily 9am editorial call on Monday, though CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who will stay on and work with Weiss, said she would attend future meetings.

“The room looked pretty stone-faced,” an employee who participated said. Cibrowski, an ABC News veteran who only recently took over as president, told employees that they could contact him directly with questions.

Weiss, who carved out a reputation as a provocative opinion writer and burgeoning media operator, has no experience working in broadcast television. David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount and son of billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison, said her appointment was designed to help make CBS News “the most trusted name in news”.

Weiss “brings a passion for reaching broad audiences through rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum”, David Ellison assured CBS News employees on Monday, hailing her “restless desire to build, believe, and innovate”.

“I’m in mostly in wait and see mode,” a fifth staffer told the Guardian. “Pessimistic and skeptical, but willing to see what she does.”

“That being said”, they added, “the price tag is pretty indefensible” as the newsroom braces for a fresh round of cuts.

The news network’s rank-and-file has been grappling with sustained uncertainty at the top for more than a year. Newsroom leaders have come and gone, and network parent company Paramount recently faced criticism for paying $16m to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, who had claimed a pre-election interview with the Democratic candidate for president, Kamala Harris, was falsely edited. Many legal experts had widely dismissed the lawsuit as “meritless” and unlikely to hold up under the first amendment.

The unusual structure built around Weiss’s new position has also raised eyebrows. She will report directly to Ellison, rather than Cibrowski or George Cheeks, who leads Paramount’s TV business.

“It is still unclear to me how she is going to actually work,” a former CBS News insider said. “I am not sure there is any other network that has this structure. It is unclear to me … exactly how she is going to wield this power.”

A sixth current CBS News employee said they are curious to see whether Weiss makes any critical editorial appointments. “Ruling by edict from the top won’t be enough to change things,” the person said. “She’ll need lieutenants in the trenches cracking whips over our heads.”

Weiss, in her own memo to CBS News staffers, said she plans to spend the next few days and weeks getting to know them. “I want to hear from you about what’s working, what isn’t, and your thoughts on how we can make CBS News the most trusted news organization in America and the world.”

Ending on a magnanimous note, Weiss wrote: “I’m profoundly honored to join you – and I can’t wait to get started.”