Paramount buys Bari Weiss's Free Press, names her CBS News editor

In October 2025, Paramount Skydance acquired The Free Press, the subscription news and opinion company founded by Bari Weiss, for approximately $150 million in cash and stock, and named Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News. The newly created role placed Weiss in charge of editorial direction across CBS News television, streaming, and digital operations, reporting directly to Paramount chairman David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison. The move followed commitments Paramount made to win regulatory approval of its earlier merger with Skydance: in clearing that deal, the company pledged the Federal Communications Commission greater "viewpoint diversity" at CBS News, and it had paid $16 million to settle President Trump's lawsuit against CBS's 60 Minutes. Critics characterized the Weiss appointment as currying favor with the Trump administration while Paramount pursued further deals, including its pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Weiss's tenure has been marked by newsroom turnover and disputes, including the departures of veteran 60 Minutes correspondents and anchor Scott Pelley and reporting that some staff viewed her editorial interventions, such as the suppression of a segment on Trump-administration deportations, as favorable to the administration.