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Paramount Acquires ‘The Free Press’ for $150 Million, TFP Co-Founder Bari Weiss Named Editor-in-Chief of CBS News

October 6, 2025

Bari Weiss/Image: Video screenshot.

On Monday, Paramount announced the acquisition of The Free Press in a $150M deal. The Free Press co-founder and CEO, Bari Weiss, will join CBS News as editor-in-chief.

Oli London notes Weiss has a reputation for “calling out progressivism, cancel culture, being pro-Israel and being anti-woke.”

Per CBS:

David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Bari and The Free Press to Paramount and CBS News. Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News. This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects – directly and passionately – to audiences around the world.”

Ellison continued: “This is an important initiative for our company and Bari will report directly to me – leading the work of The Free Press and collaborating with our CBS News team in the pursuit of making it the most trusted name in news. We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home.”

The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum shared Weiss’s letter to her new colleagues.

BARI WEISS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CBS NEWS
LETTER TO ALL CBS NEWS EMPLOYEES
October 6, 2025
Dear Colleagues:

Growing up, CBS was a deep family tradition. Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh. The opportunity to build on that legacy with you— and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it-is an extraordinary
privilege.

Right now, I imagine you have some questions. I do, too.

My goal in the coming days and weeks is to get to know you. 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. I’ll approach it the way any reporter would —with an open mind, a fresh notebook, and an urgent deadline.

What I can tell you on day one is that I stand for the same core journalistic values that have defined this profession since the beginning, and I will continue to champion them alongside you:

1. Journalism that reports on the world as it actually is.
2. Journalism that is fair, fearless, and factual.
3. Journalism that respects our audience enough to tell the truth plainly-wherever it leads.
4. Journalism that makes sense of a noisy, confusing world.
5. Journalism that explains things clearly, without pretension or jargon.
6. Journalism that holds both American political parties to equal scrutiny.
7. Journalism that embraces a wide spectrum of views and voices so that the audience can contend with the best arguments on all sides of a debate.
8. Journalism that rushes toward the most interesting and important stories, regardless of their unpopularity.
9. Journalism that uses all of the tools of the digital era.
10. Journalism that understands that the best way to serve America is to endeavor to present the public with the facts, first and foremost.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the days ahead and to listening and learning from you. I am profoundly honored to join you-and I can’t wait to get started.

With gratitude and excitement,

Bari

Weiss shared the following on X, “They said that the internet killed journalism forever and that there simply weren’t enough Americans out there in search of media driven by honesty, independence, and integrity. You proved them wrong.”

“You demonstrated that there is a market, a big one for honest journalism, and you’ve given us a mandate to pursue that mission from an even bigger platform. I’m going to continue to lead this incredible community alongside my tireless team, remaining CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Free Press, and of course, hosting this show.”

“But as of today, I’ll be taking on another title, too. I’m now Editor-in-Chief of CBS News, working with new colleagues on the programs that have impacted American culture for generations. Shows like 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning, and also shaping how millions of Americans read, listen, watch, and most importantly, understand the news in the 21st century. In retrospect, what the free press did is uncover an America hiding in plain sight. People who want to be surprised, people who want to learn, people who are open to changing their minds in the face of new facts, people who believe that curiosity is a virtue and who crave common sense in a world that feels upside down.”

“People who resist the warmth of political tribalism, even as they seek community with one another, and people who want logic and wit, not conspiracy theories and demoralization. Most of all, free pressers are people who want to face the truth because we understand that knowing is the only way to improve lives, our own and those of our fellow citizens.”

Watch her full statement below:

Weiss left the New York Times in 2020 after calling out the paper for “cowing to woke, leftist staffers” following the aftermath of the publication of an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).

 

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