Paramount denies Bari Weiss may cede control over – Business News
Paramount is flatly denying a report that Bari Weiss might lose control over key CBS News broadcasts amid mounting turmoil inside the community’s information division.
The company issued a assertion Tuesday insisting Weiss retains the “full support” of Paramount and Skydance boss David Ellison after Puck reported that executives had privately mentioned scaling back her authority over “60 Minutes,” “CBS Evening News” and “CBS Mornings.”
“Bari has the full support of Paramount and David Ellison as the editorial leader overseeing CBS News and 60 Minutes,” a Paramount spokesperson instructed The Post.
Paramount is denying a report that it’s looking for to scale back the scope of Bari Weiss’s authority as editor in chief of CBS News. Weiss is seen left with House Speaker Mike Johnson. Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press
“Reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate.”
When pressed by The Post on whether or not Paramount was particularly denying discussions about having Weiss cede authority over marquee CBS News applications, Paramount chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman responded straight through e-mail: “yes we are denying and the Puck report is false.”
The denial got here after Puck reported that Paramount executives had quietly begun reconsidering the breadth of Weiss’ authority following months of inner backlash, destructive press and growing concern inside CBS News over her management fashion.
According to Puck, discussions inside Paramount concerned doubtlessly lowering Weiss’ direct oversight of CBS News’ linear tv operations whereas shifting her focus towards digital strategy and broader editorial priorities.
Puck reported that some executives privately believed Weiss had been handed “too broad” a mandate regardless of missing conventional tv management expertise.
The report additionally stated insiders inside CBS News and “60 Minutes” seen Weiss as “drastically overstretched” whereas struggling to handle the calls for of the community.
Weiss has the “full support” of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, in keeping with the company. Getty Images for CinemaCon
The mounting scrutiny round Weiss comes as tensions proceed to engulf “60 Minutes,” the place staffers have grown alarmed by what many view as unprecedented editorial interference inside the famously impartial newsmagazine.
Weiss, the founder of The Free Press, was put in atop CBS News by Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison as half of an aggressive effort to remake the struggling information division — however her tenure has shortly turn into engulfed in controversy.
The turmoil escalated after Anderson Cooper introduced he would depart “60 Minutes” after almost 20 years.
Anderson Cooper’s departure from “60 Minutes” was reportedly attributable to his growing discomfort over Weiss’s management. 60 Minutes / CBS
Weiss has ruffled feathers at “60 Minutes.” She just lately bypassed longtime correspondent Lesley Stahl, who was angling to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in keeping with sources. 60 Minutes/YouTube
While Cooper publicly stated he wished to spend more time together with his kids, Status reported he had additionally grown uncomfortable with Weiss’ increasing editorial function and the community’s ideological direction.
In his farewell Sunday night time, Cooper appeared to allude to the interior tensions, stressing that the “independence” of “60 Minutes” had been “critical” to its success.
Weiss has since confronted backlash over a number of editorial disputes, together with the delayed airing of Sharyn Alfonsi’s “Inside CECOT” section about Venezuelan deportees despatched to El Salvador and the choice at hand a Benjamin Netanyahu interview to CBS correspondent Major Garrett as a substitute of veteran “60 Minutes” journalist Lesley Stahl.
Meanwhile, Weiss’ revamp of “CBS Evening News” below Tony Dokoupil has struggled to gain traction.
The broadcast has suffered scores declines and recent embarrassment after Dokoupil was pressured to anchor from Taiwan — slightly than Beijing — when he reportedly didn’t secure a Chinese visa in time for President Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping.
During the chaotic Taiwan broadcast, a cameraman collapsed dwell on air, forcing Dokoupil to abruptly halt the section and call for a physician.
