Paramount Global is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire journalist Bari Weiss’ media company, The Free Press, in a transaction valued between $100 million and $200 million.
As part of the arrangement, Weiss is expected to be offered a senior editorial position at CBS News, according to reporting from Puck.
Weiss launched The Free Press in 2022 after her resignation from The New York Times, where she served as an opinion editor.
In her resignation letter, Weiss criticized the paper for what she described as an environment hostile to ideological diversity.
She wrote that the publication had embraced “illiberalism” and restricted the free exchange of ideas.
Weiss also said she had been targeted by colleagues for challenging prevailing narratives, at one point being called a “Nazi.”
At the time, she remarked, “Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.”
Since leaving the Times, Weiss has built The Free Press into a prominent outlet, often publishing pieces critical of progressive politics and offering a platform to voices across the political spectrum.
News of Paramount’s plan to acquire The Free Press and bring Weiss into a leadership role at CBS News has sparked significant reaction in media circles.
Not our precious establishment media! No, no –
Forbid it, O almighty God!https://t.co/5G3EZXvFgi
— Caitlin Flanagan (@CaitlinPacific) September 5, 2025
Status newsletter author Oliver Darcy, in a note to readers on Wednesday night, described the reported deal as “an absurd sum” and warned that the move could affect CBS’ standing with its audience.
“David Ellison vowed not to politicize Paramount — yet his first big move at CBS News is a major bet on Bari Weiss, one of the most polarizing figures in media,” Darcy wrote.
He added, “Weiss, the stridently pro-Israel, proudly anti-‘woke’ culture warrior, has built her brand on polarizing political commentary — supposedly the type of material Ellison signaled to reporters that he wishes to run away from.”
Darcy cautioned that appointing Weiss to a senior position could damage the network’s relationship with its viewers.
“Handing Weiss the keys won’t broaden trust — it will further erode it among the people who actually watch the network, reinforcing suspicions about Ellison’s agenda.
In effect, the move will set CBS News on a course to squander its hard-earned credibility with the audience that reveres its history and demands it stand unbowed to power,” he wrote.
Inside CBS, the reaction has also been sharp.
According to Status News, employees expressed alarm over Weiss’ potential arrival.
One individual familiar with internal discussions said staff were “not happy AT ALL,” with others “bracing for impact.”
Another insider told the outlet that Weiss’ presence could trigger a backlash, particularly over coverage of Israel and Gaza.
One journalist outside CBS told Status they would resign rather than work under Weiss, closing their comments with, “Good night, and bad luck.”
The backlash extended beyond CBS.
Reporter Zaid Jilani highlighted a comparison made online between Weiss and Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels, responding, “I disagree with the comparison. Goebbels was much taller.”
Other media figures also weighed in. The Nation expressed criticism of the potential deal, while Taylor Lorenz, formerly of The Washington Post, wrote on social media, “The right wing grift economy is undefeated.”
The right wing grift economy is undefeated https://t.co/bgwZ2v5BpP
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) September 3, 2025
The Free Press, under Weiss’ leadership, has grown quickly as an independent outlet, attracting subscribers and attention for its reporting and commentary.
The prospective acquisition by Paramount would represent a major shift in the media landscape, bringing Weiss into a key decision-making position at one of the nation’s major broadcast news organizations.
Megyn Kelly and Glenn Greenwald also weighed in on the situation.
Frankly I’ve been waiting for a couple of the Legacy media outlets to make a turn to the right. They let FOX control that end of the spectrum far too long and establish dominance. Viewers of NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, WAPO, NYT have been switching to Fox because the actual NEWS reporting is actually trying to be fair and balanced. Once folks switch for the NEWS they also get the opinion side. If any one of the Legacy companies had turned to the middle or middle right sooner they could easily have taken the market share Fox captured. CBS was the likely candidate so maybe they are finally seeing the opportunity. Fox and Newsmax are getting the Conservatives but the middle is ripe for the picking. Good luck to them.
The Mongols invaded China, just as Weiss seems to be invading CBS. However, like China, CBS has a culture that absorbs and diminishes outsiders.
I hope The Free Press does not go away. It is my first read in the morning, and after a day of scanning the traditional media, long since having lied them selves into irrelevance, it is my last read at night.
The take away from this article is that one of the syndicates that squandered any shred of integrity and dignity that it may ever have had is trying to increase its audience share by buying an indie source that is wildly successful. Futhermore, the people who have lied and politicized news for over 100 years are upset that their opposition, someone who stands for truth and honesty, is getting platformed alongside them. I have to say, these people are so very lucky because in the last century, each and every one of them, when discovered lying to the American People would have been tarred, feathered, and driven out of town on a rail. I still say, this is exactly what should be done with them all today.
Americans trust gas station sushi more than the legacy national media.
Tears aplenty for CBS traditionalists. CBS has shown how to slowly and steadily succumb to more broad political engines, particularly FOX. They might lose a few followers by becoming more balanced and somewhat centrist, but the new viewers will relish for a fresh approach and probably more than replace them. Yet, Paramount must also be thinking about the transition away from broadcast media and to streaming. A catalog of shows with a spectrum of voices that can be viewed whenever the consumer has time is so much more appealing than the lockstep of traditional TV. Paramount is grasping for more.
Never heard of her or her organization but, if it gets liberals panties in a bunch then that’s good for a free and truthful press.
Amen Dirk. One small correction though. The founding fathers were liberals. Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Peacefully Assemble…..basically all of the Bill of Rights, were all liberal ideas that the English King forbid. The democrats today are not “Liberals”, they are “Leftists” more closely aligned with communists and National Socialists of 1930s Germany.
I agree. I wish people stop referring to Leftists as Liberals and Progressives. Those labels haven’t been accurate for a long time, and some would make the case they never were.
Oops, typo….”people would stop….”