If the recent New York Times report is accurate, Bari Weiss is learning a hard lesson at CBS News.
According to the outlet, Weiss — who joined the network earlier this month to steer its editorial direction — is frustrated that her comments from internal editorial calls are being leaked to reporters. And while that frustration might be understandable, it’s also predictable.
Because of course they’re being leaked.
Leaks like this don’t happen in organizations where the leader has earned trust and respect. And that’s the lesson Weiss needs to learn. Respect, like trust, is earned in drops and lost in buckets. You don’t walk into a newsroom filled with veteran employees and established journalists and instantly command loyalty by virtue of your title. You earn it, slowly, through decisions that build confidence, through communication that inspires belief, and through consistency that proves you’re not just another boss passing through.
I once had a boss that was frustrated that the employees would often pick on our colleague who very clearly received special treatment. That’s not sour grapes, either, the employee knew it and admitted as much (it also why he didn’t get picked on, but that’s another story for another day).
The boss eventually shared with the staff that this co-worked deserved our respect because he had been given a very important title in the company.
Yeah, that’s not how that works.
You earn respect. It isn’t simply awarded by fancy titles given to you by the son of one of the richest men in the world. And respect is almost always universally reciprocated. It starts with the leader respecting the people they’re working with, the job their doing, and the effort being put into the product. Not the other way around.
And, frankly, it’s pretty clear Bari Weiss doesn’t respect the people at CBS News.
At The Free Press, Weiss didn’t need to earn that trust from anyone but her own handpicked team. She built the platform from scratch. It reflected her voice, her vision, her priorities. Which was her prerogative, because she was the founder and the face. There was no legacy staff to win over, no institutional culture to understand, and no history to navigate. She could move quickly because she owned every part of the process. That’s a luxury leaders rarely get at a legacy institution like CBS News.
CBS has been telling America what’s happening in the world for more than a century. The network’s history looms large. It’s a place where journalistic traditions run deep and change is rarely smooth. Weiss, by all accounts, has strong opinions about where journalism should go. That’s not inherently bad. But charging into a newsroom that’s existed since before your grandparents were born and acting like you have all the answers is a recipe for backlash.
What Weiss seems to be bumping into is the difference between influence and authority. Influence is earned. Authority is assigned. CBS can give Weiss the title, the salary, and the responsibility. But the people on those editorial calls — the producers, writers, editors, and correspondents — are the ones who decide whether she truly has influence. And right now, it’s clear that she doesn’t.
Leaks are a form of rebellion. They’re a message from within that something isn’t clicking. People — in instances like this — leak because they don’t feel heard, don’t feel respected, or don’t believe in the direction being set. It’s rarely about the actual comments made on the call: it’s about the culture behind them. When a newsroom trusts its leader, it protects those private discussions. When it doesn’t, those discussions end up in the press.
Weiss might see herself as a reformer — a disruptor, if you will — brought in to challenge the status quo at CBS News. That’s fine, even admirable, if it’s done with care. But lasting reform never comes from walking in the door and telling everyone how wrong they’ve been. It comes from listening first. It comes from understanding the pressures, traditions, and personalities that shape the newsroom. Only then can you start to move it forward in a way that feels authentic, not imposed.
The irony is that Bari Weiss built her reputation by calling out what she saw as groupthink in journalism. Yet now, she’s dealing with the consequences of being viewed as an outsider trying to impose her own version of orthodoxy. She’s learning that being “the boss” doesn’t make people listen. They listen when they believe you understand them.
CBS News doesn’t need a disruptor who’s frustrated by leaks. It needs a leader who can blend conviction with humility, vision with patience, and bold ideas with an appreciation for the culture she’s entered. Weiss has shown she’s capable of leading something powerful when she builds it from the ground up. The challenge now is proving she can lead something that already exists.
And that takes time. Time to earn trust, time to show respect, and time to prove that her decisions aren’t just about shaking things up, but about making them better.
Until then, she shouldn’t be surprised when the words spoken behind closed doors don’t stay there. Because in this business, respect and trust aren’t granted — they’re earned, one drop at a time.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
So true, really nice analysis, nailed it!