What Happened to Bari Weiss?

Bari Weiss began her career in journalism with roles at Jewish-oriented publications like Haaretz and The Forward, and later as a senior editor at Tablet Magazine. From 2013 to 2017, she served as an op-ed and book review editor at The Wall Street Journal. In 2017, Weiss joined The New York Times as a staff editor and writer for the opinion section, with a stated goal of bringing diverse voices to the paper.

Her tenure at The New York Times was marked by controversy, as her centrist and often contrarian views on issues like identity politics and Israel clashed with what she described as a prevailing progressive orthodoxy within the paper. On July 14, 2020, Weiss publicly resigned from The New York Times, publishing a scathing letter to publisher A.G. Sulzberger. In it, she accused the paper of fostering a hostile work environment, engaging in "unlawful discrimination," and allowing "constant bullying" from colleagues who called her a "Nazi and a racist." She famously stated, "Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor."

Following her departure, Weiss launched a Substack newsletter in January 2021 called Common Sense, which was later rebranded as The Free Press in 2022. The Free Press quickly grew into a full-fledged independent media company, focusing on what Weiss described as "heterodox journalism" and challenging perceived failures and ideological biases in legacy media. The platform gained significant traction, attracting a large subscriber base and securing investments from prominent figures. By 2025, The Free Press was valued at over $200 million.

A major turning point occurred in October 2025 when Paramount Skydance acquired The Free Press for approximately $150 million. As part of this acquisition, Bari Weiss was appointed to the newly created position of editor-in-chief of CBS News, reporting directly to Paramount CEO David Ellison. This move was widely interpreted as an effort to infuse CBS News with Weiss's emphasis on rigorous, unfiltered reporting and to appeal to a broader audience, though it also sparked criticism regarding a potential shift rightward for the network.

Since taking the helm at CBS News, Weiss has initiated significant changes. In December 2025, she appointed Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor for CBS Evening News, effective January 5, 2026. She also controversially spiked a '60 Minutes' segment investigating the Salvadoran Terrorism Confinement Center in December 2025, which eventually aired in January 2026 after leaking online. As of April 2026, reports indicate that Weiss is planning a major overhaul of the long-running '60 Minutes' program, aiming to revamp its format and bring in new correspondents more aligned with her editorial vision, potentially leading to an "earthquake-like event" within the show. Her leadership has already seen staffing changes, including layoffs, and has been described as a "newsroom culture clash."