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Weiss' presentation for revamping CBS News drew mixed

reactions

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Some said hiring of contributors risks clashing with

journalism

mission

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Others cheered focus on digital transformation, while

noting

challenges

By Dawn Chmielewski and Helen Coster

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Three months

into her tenure, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss presented a

vision this week to revitalize the nearly century-old

broadcaster, in part by applying the same formula that fueled

the rise of The Free Press - recruiting commentators who offer

observations about news, politics and culture.

From adding 19 new commentators, including some drawn from The

Free Press ranks, to introducing new podcasts, newsletters and

live events, employees were variously energized or skeptical of

the ideas presented by CBS' new boss. Weiss' notions about how

to thrive in a post-Walter Cronkite era struck some as in

conflict with the stated mission of doing great journalism,

according to seven current ‌and former CBS News employees and

industry insiders.

In her presentation, Weiss also envisioned a galaxy of

cross-platform stars, like New York Times columnist and CNBC

host Andrew Ross Sorkin, whom she highlighted with a meme:

"Sorkining." The Dealbook founder is the author of several

business books, executive producer of the Showtime series

"Billions," and maestro of the New ​York Times premiere live

event, and a Davos fixture.

"It's like saying 'Hey, Hollywood. Why can't you just be

like Leonardo DiCaprio?' If people knew how to bottle that magic

and make someone a star, they would do it," said a ‍former CBS

employee.

An industry veteran said the idea suggested a lack of

appreciation for the power of television, which has been making

stars for generations: among them "CBS Evening News" anchors ⁠Dan

Rather, Connie Chung, Walter Cronkite and Katie Couric.

The 41-year-old ⁠Weiss, who has no broadcast experience and

has been described as a distant leader by six current and former

CBS News sources, now has to deliver on her promise of capturing

new and younger viewers - including political independents who

don't see themselves reflected in mainstream media. It is a

daunting undertaking that has hobbled ‌executives across

broadcast and cable, including former CNN chief Chris Licht,

ousted in June 2023.

One supporter sees the charismatic Weiss as a ​modern-day

Katharine Graham, the legendary publisher of the Washington

Post, who was undermined by underlings when she took over in

1963. Graham transformed the paper and led it through its

Watergate-era heyday, and generally left editorial decisions to

Executive Editor Ben Bradlee.

A current staffer, speaking on background, said, "People

are saying, 'Let's give her a chance' ... I want to see her

succeed. If she succeeds, we all succeed."

CBS News and ⁠Weiss did not immediately respond to requests

for comment.

PRIORITIES FOR CBS NEWS

Weiss, a former opinion journalist and media entrepreneur,

joined CBS ‍after parent Paramount owner David ​Ellison

bought her five-year-old media company, The Free Press, for $150

million in October.

Some see Weiss' playbook of expanding CBS's journalism ranks

with commentators as conflicting with other initiatives

including breaking news and landing deep investigative stories,

according to three current and former CBS News staffers and an

industry veteran.

"There's nothing wrong with that," said the former employee.

"But is that what a news division is or are they craving

something completely different? That's ‍fine but don't pretend

it's a news division."

Another current CBS News staffer talked about past failures

to capitalize on new ways of reaching the audience, such as

leveraging the power of the Paramount+ streaming service to

promote news shows, observing, "We have done a wretched job of

being on the internet."

Weiss is also attempting to change the news network's

political orientation, appealing to a wider cross-section of

Americans, according to her remarks Tuesday. Weiss said she

wants CBS News to reflect the friction animating the national

conversation.

In broadening its perspective to include more diverse

viewpoints, CBS News could ultimately lay claim to the uncharted

ground for a center-right broadcaster, said Integrated Media

Chief Executive Jonathan Miller, a veteran media executive who

has held senior positions at News Corp and AOL.

"We need to commission and greenlight stories that will

surprise and provoke - including inside our own newsroom," Weiss

said in her address to employees. "We also have to widen the

aperture of the stories we tell."

On that front, CBS has had mixed ​results so far. Earlier

this month, "CBS ‍Evening News" broadcast a widely panned segment

featuring U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in various

meme-like situations, saluting him as "the ultimate Florida

man."

EARLY SUCCESSES

It has also seen successes, including Lesley Stahl's interview

with Trump son-in-law and Middle East advisor Jared Kushner and

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, within a week of brokering a peace

deal between Israel and Hamas, and Norah O'Donnell's "60

Minutes" interview with Trump. Paramount paid Trump $16 million

to settle a ​lawsuit over its editing of an interview with his

White House rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

It landed journalistic scoops, including interviewing the man

who charged one of two gunmen who attacked a Jewish community

gathering in Sydney, and exclusive video of Alex Pretti, the man

killed by Border Patrol in Minneapolis, reading a tribute to a

veteran who died in 2024.

Weiss announced that the network would bring in contributors

with expertise in politics, health, happiness, food and culture,

whom she encouraged staffers to use on-air. The roster includes

Free Press columnist Niall Ferguson of the conservative Hoover

Institution, as well as Casey Lewis, a former Teen Vogue and MTV

editor who writes about youth culture.

"It's great to have younger people, a diverse demographic and

diverse ideology represented," said Kathy Kiely, the chair in

Free-Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism.

"Newsrooms can't do a good job unless we have that diversity in

our ranks. What worries me is the emphasis on opinion over

primary-sourced, reported facts."

Weiss emphasized making content available online before it airs

on TV to reach more viewers. CBS has long been in ​third place

behind rivals ABC and NBC and, like most mainstream media, is

struggling with audience declines as consumers migrate to social

platforms.

Pew Research estimates about one-third of all adults get at

least some news from podcasts. CBS News does not appear among

Spotify's or Apple's rankings of the top 50 news podcasts.

One former employee expects the digital-first goal to be

complicated because CBS hasn't devoted sufficient resources to

helping correspondents or anchors curate their social media

presence or re-edit television interviews for YouTube or

streaming.

Weiss encouraged staffers to think of the news organization

as the best-capitalized media startup in the world.

"We are in a ‍position, with the support of all of the

leadership of this company, to really make the change we need."