CBS News Gutting Journalists, Bringing In ‘Paid Commentators’
CBS News has been under fire since its parent company, Paramount Global, merged with Skydance Media. Once the merger went through, the network brought in Bari Weiss to shake up the news division. One of her biggest moves was promoting Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor of CBS Evening News.
The move was supposed to help the ratings, but it has been a bust so far. In an emergency meeting with staffers, Bari Weiss revealed plans to bring in “paid commentators.” Keep reading to find out what other changes she has in store for the network’s news division.
Bari Weiss Reveals CBS News Mission Statement
Bari Weiss has experience in journalism. She was an opinion writer for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. However, she doesn’t have experience in news broadcasting. According to the NPR, the CBS News editor-in-chief had an all-hands-on-deck meeting earlier this week at the studio in New York City.
She reportedly shared her vision for the news division. She wants to make it “fit for purpose in the 21st Century. She added, “We all must focus first on what we’re building, not what we’re maintaining. On how we are going to reach an audience exponentially bigger than the one we have now.”
“We can still do what the Wild West of social media cannot,” she said about CBS News.
Network Gutting Journalists, Bringing In ‘Paid Commentators’
The shakeup at CBS News led to several huge resignations and layoffs. NPR speculated that more layoffs are coming, but Bari Weiss didn’t address that during the meeting. She did, however, reveal that CBS hired over a dozen “paid commentators” to discuss a variety of topics on the news programs, including “national security” and “health and wellness.”
The shift away from journalists to “paid commentators” reflects Tony Dokoupil’s statement earlier this month that CBS News “put too much weight” on experts instead of listening to the American people. The “paid commentators” reportedly include HR McMaster, a former national security advisor during Trump’s first term.
CBS News President Talks ‘Growing Pains’
Tony Dokoupil has not brought in the ratings expected of him. But CBS News is standing by him, at least for now. CBS News President Andrew Heyward subtly addressed the disappointing ratings.
“There are always growing pains when you start something new,” he said. “Those growing pains have been exacerbated by today’s polarized political atmosphere and execution errors.”
During the staff meeting, Bari Weiss compared CBS News to a start-up, vowing that the news program will look completely different in a year. She said, “Start-ups aren’t for everyone. They’re places that move at rapid speed. They experiment. They try new things. They sometimes create noise and, yes, bad press!”
The editor-in-chief hinted a more staff changes, “If that’s not your bag… that’s okay.” Tell us your thoughts about the changes at CBS News in the comments.
