Just days after taking over as editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss has reportedly already rocked the boat with some of her staffers. The New York Times published a report on Sunday, October 19, about alleged tension between Weiss and the staff of 60 Minutes following a meeting on Tuesday, October 14.
Weiss reportedly asked the staff, “Why does the country think you’re biased?”
“The inquiry was met with stunned awkwardness, according to three people who recounted details from the private session in Midtown Manhattan,” Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin wrote in the New York Times piece. “The staff of 60 Minutes, the nation’s most-watched news program, view their coverage as firmly nonpartisan and reject criticism from President [Donald] Trump and his allies who argue that it has a liberal slant.”
President Trump sued CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, in 2024, claiming 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with Kamala Harris in her favor. Trump and Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement earlier this year, which has brought the media company under much scrutiny.
Weiss just became the editor-in-chief of CBS News on October 6, but has wasted no time making waves. According to the NYT report, there has been a mixed reaction among CBS News staff to their new leader.
“Some staff members are hopeful that Ms. Weiss will bring some needed energy and ideas to a news division that has struggled to adapt to the digital age,” Grynbaum and Mullin added. “Her interest in big interviews and bigger audiences has buoyed some CBS journalists, who think their network, which has cycled through five presidents in five years, needs a shake-up.”
The journalists also reported that Weiss is “impressing” some top executives at CBS, while “confounding” others. Plus, they noted, she has already been personally involved in some interview bookings with subjects who are right-leaning.
“Ms. Weiss, an ardent supporter of Israel … helped book an interview with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister,” the report said. “She later worked with 60 Minutes producers to land Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the architects of President Trump’s Middle East peace plan, for this Sunday’s episode.”
