Bari Weiss lays out vision for CBS News, shoots down accusations she

Bari Weiss lays out vision for CBS News, shoots down accusations she

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss revealed her vision for the struggling news outlet Tuesday, saying she needs to increase its footprint past tv — and shot down accusations she was “pressured” to shelve a controversial “60 Minutes” piece last month.

During a city corridor assembly with staffers, Weiss denied the Trump administration or her boss David Ellison, the CEO of CBS’ mum or dad company Paramount Skydance, had urged her to yank a “60 Minutes” phase on El Salvador’s infamous CECOT jail.

“I want to say this as plainly as and clearly as possible: I was not pressured by David Ellison or anyone else,” Weiss said during the Q&A portion of the closed-door assembly at CBS News’ Broadcasting Center in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss revealed her vision for the struggling news division to increase its footprint past tv. Getty Images for The Free Press

According to a transcript of the city corridor obtained by The Post, she said the “only conversations” she’s had with Ellison since before she joined the network have been “conversations about fairness.”

He “never” noticed something about the phase before it aired, Weiss added.

The politically charged bidding warfare between Paramount and Netflix to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery has loomed in the background of Weiss’ stewardship of CBS News.

Since shedding out last yr, Paramount has been making an attempt to dam Netflix from buying the media big. The White House has supported Paramount’s CEO and his dad Larry Ellison, a billionaire and major Trump backer, as The Post beforehand reported.

Meanwhile, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi claimed in a leaked inside memo that Weiss’ choice to shelve the CECOT piece was “politically motivated.” The phase wound up operating earlier this month with a handful of adjustments.

Weiss opened Tuesday’s city corridor by telling staff she needs to “earn their trust” as she remakes CBS News.

Weiss said that her boss David Ellison didn’t strain her to tug the “60 Minutes” phase on the CECOT prision. Zuffa LLC

“I’m not going to stand up here today and ask you for your trust. I’m going to earn it like we have to do with our viewers,” she said, including that she was employed to “make CBS News fit for purpose in the 21st century.”

“We have to look honestly at ourselves. We are not producing a product that enough people want,” Weiss added.

She said the network must cease working as “fiefdoms” to be able to win — alluding to the longtime MO for varied CBS News exhibits.

Sharyn Alfonsi accused Weiss of shelving the CECOT piece for political causes. Facebook / Sharyn Alfonsi

“60 Minutes” has sometimes operated as its personal unit and answered only to the govt producer, who runs the present and retains its programming and journalism under wraps until it airs.

As reported by The Post, Weiss has labored to vary that tradition — a point of rivalry inside the decades-old present. At the city corridor, she revealed she needs to increase the “60 Minutes” model past the TV present on Sunday.

Sources near Weiss — who bought her startup The Free Press to Paramount Skydance for $150 million as she joined CBS News last yr — said that might embody live occasions and podcasts.

During the city corridor, Weiss said she needs to amp up the network’s reporting across platforms and exhibits, giving the instance of a story starting as a video on CBSNews.com and YouTube and then being featured the following day on the “Evening News” and “CBS Mornings” — lastly airing in a more in-depth vogue on “60 Minutes.”

During the city corridor, which was held at CBS News’ Broadcasting Center in New York, Weiss said she needs to remodel the network past linear TV. Getty Images

“We create the wave and then we ride it,” Weiss said — noting that “transformation” in the trade will “mean transformation” in the workforce.

She didn’t say how many layoffs might be in the works after CBS News fired about 100 staffers in October.

She also said she needs to put money into more “revelatory journalism” and emphasize “investigative scoops,” in addition to monetizing journalism with paywalls and subscription choices.

Weiss hopes to increase “60 Minutes’” footprint past its Sunday night program.

She said to be able to do that, she will work carefully with CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, senior vice chairman of editorial and stations Wendy Fisher, managing editor Charles Forelle, deputy editor Adam Rubenstein and senior vice chairman of newsgathering Terri Stewart.

Weiss said she is including 19 new contributors to the fold, including conservative historian Sir Niall Ferguson, podcasters Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia, and Patrick McGee, who focuses on tech and China and is a contributor to Weiss’ The Free Press.

Other contributors embody chef Clare de Boer, doctor Mark Hyman, writer Caroline Chambers, Casey Lewis, who has a Substack about rising developments in youth tradition, and former National Security Adviser HR McMaster.

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