Who is Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News?

Paramount Skydance has appointed Bari Weiss, a former New York Times opinion writer who launched an “anti-woke” commentary website, as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Five years after an acrimonious exit from the New York Times, Weiss, 41, has been installed at the top of one of the most venerated institutions in US news – solidifying the

meteoric rise of a divisive figure in media.

She will report directly to David Ellison, the son of billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison and head of Paramount Skydance, the company that owns CBS News, which has acquired The Free Press, Weiss’ media startup.

As editor-in-chief, Weiss will likely play a major role in shaping news coverage at the network.

Where did Weiss get her start?

Weiss held editorial roles at Jewish news outlets early in her career, including Haaretz, The Forward and Tablet. In 2013, she joined the opinion staff at the Wall Street Journal. In 2017, she joined Brett Stephens in moving to the New York Times’ opinion desk, where she started writing her own column.

What did she do at the New York Times?

As a journalist at the New York Times, Weiss developed a reputation for both criticizing Donald Trump in his first term and cracking down on the left’s cancel culture, from cultural appropriation to protests on college campuses.

In the swirls of the #MeToo movement, she penned a viral op-ed defending comedian Aziz Ansari, who was accused of sexual misconduct in an anonymous essay. Weiss said at the time that the essay “transforms what ought to be a movement for women’s empowerment into an emblem for female helplessness”.

Why did Weiss leave the Times?

Weiss’ departure from the Times increased her profile even more. In July 2020, she published a public resignation letter, addressed to Times publisher AG Schulzberger, where she accused the company of becoming partisan, and reporting stories “to satisfy the narrowest of audiences”.

She also said she was “the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views”. The Times said at the time it was committed to “fostering an environment of honest, searching and empathetic dialogue” between its employees.

What is the Free Press?

Months after her departure from the Times, Weiss started a newsletter called Common Sense. The newsletter eventually expanded into a media startup, the Free Press, which publishes newsletters and podcasts. The company received backing from investors including venture capitalists Marc Andreesen and David Sacks and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

At the Free Press, Weiss published controversial reports and series, including the podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, about the Harry Potter author and her clash with liberals over her views on trans people, and a report on the Columbia pro-Palestine encampments with the headline “Camping Out at Columbia’s Communist Coachella”.

The author of a book titled How to Fight Anti-Semitism, Weiss is a longtime, staunch supporter of Israel and has utilized the Free Press to defend the country during the war in Gaza.

Why is Paramount Skydance acquiring the Free Press?

Skydance Media made an agreement with the Trump administration that its content will promote a “diversity of viewpoints” in the company’s bid to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to merge with Paramount Global.

The FCC agreed to the merger in July, which saw Skydance pay $8bn to merge with Paramount, making Ellison in charge of the new Paramount Skydance company.

Ahead of the merger, Paramount Global also paid $16m to Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit the president had filed against 60 Minutes, a move that was largely criticized by media watchdogs. Paramount also announced the 2026 cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show, which was widely seen as a capitulation to Trump.

Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commissions, which greenlit the merger, said that he was “pleased” with commitments the company made to reform CBS. In a letter to Carr, Skydance said it would ensure that the new company’s “array of news and entertainment programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum”.

Paramount Skydance is also reportedly preparing to make a bid to buy Warning Bros Discovery, the company that owns CNN.

On Monday, Ellison suggested the acquisition of the Free Press – and Weiss’ appointment as editor-in-chief – would help CBS News to reach “the majority of the country”.