CBS News Boss Announces Big Shakeup & Warns Network Must Change
What To Know
- Bari Weiss met with CBS News staffers for a town hall meeting, where she outlined her plans for the future at the network.
- Weiss took over as CBS News’ editor-in-chief in October 2025.
- Her presentation explored transitioning CBS News to be “fit” for the 21st century, with a focus on meeting audiences where they are on digital platforms.
Three months after Bari Weiss took over as editor-in-chief for CBS News, she met with staffers to discuss her vision for the future of the network. Weiss has already been implementing changes at CBS News, and her town hall speech made it clear that this is just the beginning.
“I am here to make CBS News fit for purpose in the 21st century,” Weiss said. “Our industry has changed more in the last decade than in the last 150 years and the transformation isn’t over yet. It’s almost impossible to conceive of how fast things will move from here. And the one thing I can promise is that it’s going to be one hell of a fight.”
Weiss urged her staff to “look honestly at ourselves,” and admitted, “We are not producing a product that enough people want.” She explained, “Not enough people trust us. Not you. Us. As in: the mainstream media. We can debate ‘why’ that is, but the numbers tell the story.” Another reason for the company’s failure, she said, “We are not doing enough to meet audiences where they are, so they are leaving us.”
She pointed out that Americans are instead turning to podcasts, YouTube, Twitch, and newsletters to receive information. Weiss warned that the company needs to change their strategy of “[clinging] to the audience that remains on broadcast television.”
Weiss said that she and her team will now be putting a “huge emphasis on scoops. Not scoops that expire minutes later, but investigative scoops, and, crucially, scoops of ideas. Scoops of explanation.”
Here, in three posts, are the written remarks by Bari Weiss at today’s CBS News town hall meeting. Part one of three: pic.twitter.com/sLxfVeFkVW
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 27, 2026
She continued, “To cover America as it is, we in this building need to reflect more of the political friction that animates our national conversation. That means recruiting and hiring editors, reporters, producers, and correspondents about whom our viewers will say, ‘They understand me. They will give me a fair shake. They respect me.'” Weiss said she wants to “widen the aperture of the stories we tell and the voices we hear from and the people we listen to.”
Most importantly, Weiss insisted that CBS News needs to switch from a “linear mentality” to a “streaming mentality.” She explained, “As we move forward, we are not competing primarily for ratings, but for audience share. Our competitors are not just the other broadcast networks. We are competing for the attention of anyone in front of a screen.”
During her presentation, Weiss introduced a new group of contributors, including podcasters and writers such as Niall Ferguson and Caroline Chambers, and revealed her plans to bring in social media veterans from TikTok and YouTube to help bring her new vision to life.
Conversation14 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.
-
N
Too late, Bari. You lost me, a CBS News viewer since the Cronkite era, when you made the decision to explicitly support the current Administration.
-
J
The new Fox II. I don’t trust her.
-
D
Until you prioritize journalistic integrity, the pipe you choose is immaterial. It will result in failure because nobody trusts you. You’ve broken faith with viewers so they’ve broken faith with you.
-
B
Talk about clueless. She's already messed up too much. Any effort to fix it, is too late. Adding commentators for what. To create another faux news program. That's the issue with these so called news programs. Commentators are not news. It's just their opinion which I personally don't care about. I just the news to report on the news. How hard is that to do.
-
T
Too little too late. Your network is but a shadow of itself when Walter Cronkite was the "King". Despite the advent of social media platforms since his time, the Trump sycophants now running the network have long ago lost the majority of us. To place someone like Weiss with no significant experience in that seat, and to then replace the anchor with that laughingstock Dokoupil is insane. You guys are done. The better veterans there should be jumping ship now - before it's too late!
-
J
CBS is done!
-
N
CBS now stands for Coward Broadcasting Sissies thanks to Barely Weiss and the cowards who put her into this position. Hasta La Vista cowards.
-
C
CBS. CONservative Bull Shirt. Wasn't much of a news source anyway. I do take great glee watching it swirling down the toilet trying to be CNN, Crappy News Nonsense. What cracks me up is how she keeps spouting like this is an independent idea of hers and not the billionaire owners directives. She be a fool.
-
C
Gonna loose folks honey
-
J
When you see the same situation and report one side as rioters and the other side as protesters, its pretty clear to see your bias without explanation.
-
B
Have you read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”? Shame on CBS? Or did I miss hints of bigotry and antisemitism in CBS programming.
Mothers & Fathers (liberal thinking individuals) pull your children out of the military. Let them live with you until they get on their feet. Don’t let Trump use your kids to shoot you down in the streets.
-
K
Unfortunately intelligence is acceptably fleeting and absent in the current and future. Why these Dunning Kruger idiots think the ICE agenda is acceptable blows my mind. Sure, if they went in to arrest the bad of the bad, great. Pop few rounds into a veteran’s nurse, yeah, not so much.
-
J
Until those illegals assault you...then its an issue.
-
-
I
You go girl!
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services