Paramount Skydance is closing in on officially completing an acquisition of The Free Press, and is hiring its founder, Bari Weiss, in a senior executive role.
Weiss previously served as an editor and writer at The New York Times before her high-profile 2020 exit. In the wake of her departure, she launched The Free Press.
The addition of Weiss — who many have viewed as shifting her political views from center-left to the right — comes after CBS News settled a lawsuit brought forth by President Donald Trump over its editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Bari Weiss will join the outlet that has seen plenty of changes in its executive ranks over the past year. Former CBS News President Wendy McMahon exited, as did longtime 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens. Tom Cibrowkski now serves as president of CBS News. However, Weiss will reportedly report directly to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, and not Cibrowski, when she begins her new role.
Meanwhile, Tanya Simon has been named the new Executive Producer of 60 Minutes. The network also made an executive producer change on CBS Evening News amid slumping ratings. Kim Harvey replaced Guy Campanile in the position in late August.
According to a report from Puck’s Dylan Byers, the announcement that Weiss will join CBS News will be made official on Monday. He adds that the purchase price for Paramount Skydance is believed to be around $150 million, with a mix of cash and stock options.
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