CBS Bosses Reportedly Ready to Push Aside ’60 Minutes’ Bari Weiss
What To Know
- Paramount is reportedly considering reducing CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’ control in favor of a more experienced TV executive.
- Since her appointment in October 2025, Weiss has led significant changes at CBS News, including promoting Tony Dokoupil to CBS Evening News.
- No final decisions have been made, but Weiss may retain broad editorial influence while focusing on digital growth.
It’s been a turbulent few months for Bari Weiss since she took over as CBS News editor-in-chief last October, and it appears Paramount may be ready to push her aside in favor of a “more experienced” TV executive to oversee CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings, and 60 Minutes.
According to a new report from Puck News’ Dylan Byers, the higher-ups at Paramount-Skydance are considering taking away some of Weiss’ control amid constant negative press.
“Bari has endured her role as media punching bag with relative aplomb, refusing to betray exhaustion or vulnerability while seeming to plow ahead with her plans to overhaul the network,” Byers wrote. “Meanwhile, [David] Ellison and the Paramount brass have afforded her ample leeway because they genuinely like her, endorse the editorial pivot, and, frankly, have far bigger priorities than the news division.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison appointed Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief in October 2025 following the company’s merger with Skydance. Since then, Weiss has been putting her stamp on the network, including hiring, firing, promoting, and even pulling reports. Despite criticism, Paramount has stood by the Free Press co-founder.
However, Byers reported that “there are signs that the dynamics are starting to shift.” He added, “Members of the senior leadership team have had informal discussions about changing Bari’s mandate at CBS News — and, eventually, CNN — in ways that would give her less control over the linear product.”
Paramount-Skydance successfully bid for Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, would see Paramount take ownership of the WBD film studios, HBO, and the company’s linear networks, including CNN.
According to the Puck report, there are no plans set in stone yet regarding Weiss’ future, and “it’s unclear how involved David himself has been in the discussions.”
“Bari would likely cede day-to-day control over Evening News, CBS Mornings, and 60 Minutes to this more experienced, as-yet-unnamed executive, shifting her focus to the news division’s digital growth while maintaining broad editorial influence across all the company’s platforms,” Byers wrote.
Conversation28 Comments
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T
Really? She did exactly what they wanted her to do. Kill the brand so they can rebuild it as another Faux News network. You can rebuild if it’s not broken. She broke it, now they need someone “experienced” to fix it. All part of the plan. Stop believing what billionaires say and watch what they do.
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H
The brand was already dead Tom, and suffering from a complete lack of credibility. That is why they brought her in in the first place. If ratings have not turned around it is more due to consumer trends, and by that I mean most news consumers are no longer interested in being presented with alternative viewpoints that may challenge preconceived world views. They only want to be fed a constant stream of infotainment which reinforces their existing views. This is true at both ends of the political spectrum although I would expect the typical lib to only acknowledge the phenomenon exists with respect to right leaning outlets.
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N
To believe it exists on the left, at even a small fraction of what is seen on the right, is an example of pure, uncut ignorance.
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B
I like Tom. He's funny.
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M
After Colbert I will never watch CBS again.
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B
Funny no one was watching now that's why he got canceled and CBS is in the toilet
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N
That’s Trump’s story… You do know that he defaults to lie every time, don’t’ you?
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G
Ditto, same as Mark. I frequently watched Colbert, but won't watch Colbert's replacement. I have canceled watching ALL CBS news programs and Eileen Brennan's Sunday morning political newscast/interviews. For all the MAGA sheep that say Colbert and 60 Minutes were already failing, you're wrong. Simply spewing political hate and disinformation doesn't change facts. Looking at the thumbs up vs. thumbs down on comments reflects the true numbers of viewership.
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L
What's the point now? I stopped watching CBS Evening News when John Dickerson left. I stopped watching 60 Minutes at the same time. As far as I'm concerned CBS is not a reliable source for news. T h ey can hire whoever they want. I'm done with CBS.
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T
With their ownership it's not like a replacement would be any better. It's very sad to see Paramount/CBS' downfall.
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D
The entire situation at CBS News is a microcosm of where we are today as a democracy. There was a time in our nation’s history where journalism was a respected field and many of the people who worked in it took their role seriously.
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L
Think she needs to go she nothing other than a trump lap dog like the owners
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F
Seems like "maintaining broad editorial influence across all the company's platforms" maintains the BW problem.
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D
CBS = PROPAGANDA ... with the installation of Weiss they have failed and shown the world they have 0 journalistic integrity and have lost all credibility, just look at their declining numbers...shame too hubby n I used to enjoy CBS... oh well... on to bigger and better.. too bad Reuters doesnt offer local news...
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R
CBS was #1 for many years, CBS provided profits like owning oil wells. So sad!
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B
When your goal is to please Trump and not your viewers no one will be sucessful at keeping the audience
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B
All roads lead to Tel Aviv.
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B
What a shame (RME)
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M
Delliousional people or what? Bari is exactly what is needed to counter woke left media bias without the fringe extreme in the right. The Free Press exploded onto the scene because it refused to follow a woke narrative and frankly the real talent remains with the Free Press. Its time to import some of it and install her as head of CNN.
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C
Nothing like a reminder that one group of people put our country in this position. "Woke" essentially means inclusive. It's really sad to see how many people can not handle an inclusive world. Congratulations Mark you represent every thing wrong with America.
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N
Thank you, CJ. That’s precisely what I was going to say.
I must add however, that The Free Press didn’t explode because of its “refusal to follow a woke narrative”. The Free Press exploded, because people have a very difficult time deciphering lies from truth, and because Americans were in the process of getting completely duped again by Donald Trump, and gobbling up his bullshit, enroute to blowing up the United States and the World.
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M
When there are forces that work to limit freedom and democracy, one of the high priority goals is to make the people distrust our institutions (including the press, science, education etc.). Tactics such as providing "alternative facts" have opened the door to such manipulation. Once there is distrust, control of those institutions becomes much easier for those working for their own gain at the expense of all the rest of us.
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M
In elementary school we learned that one of the high priority goals of forces that work to limit freedom and democracy is to make the people distrust our institutions (including the press, science, education etc.). Tactics such as providing "alternative facts" have opened the door to such manipulation. Once there is distrust, control of those institutions becomes much easier for those working for their own gain at the expense of all the rest of us. This is not a left vs right issue--it is an American issue, and unless we all begin to realize that and begin to say "no" in one voice to the nonsensical divisiveness that has been so skillfully crafted by those who have crept in under the wire and are now claiming to be conservatives or Republicans (and are anything but real patriots, conservatives or Republicans) the selfish and ignorant legacy of our time will be the loss of the republic the Founders worked so hard and selflessly to give us. Such is a truism for the Hoi Polloi as has been so well documented in the historical record (which is also something the same forces are already working hard to make us distrust). Divide the people, confuse them about reality and even basic knowledge, and they can be easily manipulated.
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M
One of the most important roles of journalism and a free press in a democracy is to provide a vehicle for critique of the actions of government independent of government control. Controlling the press is one of the hallmarks of a loss of democracy (and has famously been used in various eras in the former USSR, today's Russian Federation, China and of course Germany starting in the 30's)--the need for a free press is not a new idea, have they stopped teaching this in our elementary schools? The Founders are rightly weeping deeply in their graves as they watch the erosion of the republic they worked so hard and selflessly to give us. Will the legacy of our current times be the complete loss of that dream?
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T
What Weiss has done in kow towing to the administration is reprehensible. Sixty Minutes has been the gold standard of what good journalism ought to be, fielding a team of fearless and experienced journalists who had the trust of viewers. I was a Sixty Minutes fan for 40 years but no more. I'm ditching it and CBS News.
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A
I'll believe it when I see it...
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N
This is such fantastic news! Who’s idea was it to put a Times’ opinion piece writer in charge of one of the nation’s largest news rooms, anyway?
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J
It was only a matter of time before they caved to the left. I wouldn’t fought she was placed there so the merger would be accepted by the feds.
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