The Bari Weiss era at CBS News has begun.
In a move that is expected to shake up the broadcast news landscape, CBS’s owner, Paramount, said on Monday that it was buying The Free Press, an upstart digital news site founded just four years ago, and appointing its co-founder, Ms. Weiss, as the editor in chief of CBS News.
The purchase price was roughly $150 million in cash and Paramount stock, according to two people familiar with the terms who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The total amount will be paid out over time, and it may fluctuate depending on the price of Paramount’s stock.
The acquisition puts one of the country’s most traditional news institutions — the former home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite — under the editorial guidance of a journalist who rose to fame in part by critiquing old-line media institutions that she deemed timid and untrustworthy. Ms. Weiss is also a stalwart champion of Israel, and her site frequently lambastes the perceived excesses of the so-called woke left.
Ms. Weiss, 41, has never run a TV network, and in her role will have influence over hundreds of producers, anchors and reporters around the world. She will report to David Ellison, Paramount’s chief executive, and work alongside Tom Cibrowski, the president of CBS News.
In a note to her new staff on Monday, Ms. Weiss acknowledged the novelty of her position. “Right now, I imagine you have some questions,” she wrote. “I do, too.”
“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,” Ms. Weiss wrote. “I’ll approach it the way any reporter would — with an open mind, a fresh notebook and an urgent deadline.”
News of the deal sent texts whizzing at the CBS News Broadcast Center in Manhattan, even though it had been reported on for months. Mr. Cibrowski, the news division president, addressed Ms. Weiss’s new role on the organization’s editorial call at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Reading from prepared notes, Mr. Cibrowski said that Ms. Weiss would visit the newsroom later in the day to meet with senior editorial staff and added that she would be on the network’s morning call going forward. Mr. Cibrowski said that he had met several times with Ms. Weiss and that he was “more and more excited” about working with her, noting that Ms. Weiss would be in charge of editorial matters from now on.
The deal is a major validation for Ms. Weiss, whose Free Press has amassed more than 170,000 paying subscribers — and roughly 1.5 million readers overall — with its heterodox editorial approach and opinion columns on business, politics and international affairs.
The Free Press will continue to operate as an independent entity within Paramount, with Ms. Weiss remaining as editor in chief. The site employs more than 50 employees in offices on both coasts and has attracted some well-known journalists.
Mr. Ellison, the billionaire scion who took control of Paramount in August, said in a note on Monday that he had been deeply impressed with Ms. Weiss’s skills and track record of building an engaged audience “of all ages and perspectives.”
“Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News,” he wrote.
Mr. Ellison also called for CBS News to focus on “trust and facts” and to “be at the forefront of a much-needed transformation in how news is gathered, reported and delivered.”
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES
