CBS News buys The Free Press, makes its editor head of CBS newsroom

Paramount Skydance has acquired the right-leaning digital publication The Free Press and has named its co-founder as editor in chief of CBS News.

Paramount will reportedly pay $150 million to acquire the publication and its 1.5 million Substack subscribers, including an estimated 170,000 paid members while Bari Weiss, who co-founded the publication along with her wife and sister, and has also moved into the top editorial role at CBS News as of Oct. 6, 2025.

In a message to readers, Weiss noted that she will continue to serve as both editor-in-chief and CEO of The Free Press. 

In the note, Weiss also wrote that The Free Press “uncovered an America hiding in plain sight,” including “People who warmth of political tribalism even as they seek community with one another.”

“Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News,” said Paramount CEO David Ellison in a statement. “This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects — directly and passionately — to audiences around the world.”

The site, which touts itself as a news publication, is largely comprised of analysis pieces rather than straightforward news reporting, though it does make some efforts to present varying views.

The Free Press also kicked off a “Free Press Free Week” Oct. 6, offering a paywall-free experience until Oct. 12, 2025. It’s not clear how far in advance the promotion may have been planned, but the uptick in attention following the announcement of Weiss’ new role is likely to help fuel interest in the site and convert at least some of those preview readers into newsletter signups or paid subscriptions.

CBS News’ move to appoint Weiss as a high-ranking editorial staffer is unprecedented. 

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Most staffers who work in editorial, particularly in high-ranking management roles, are barred from owning or operating outside businesses or organizations to avoid any conflict of interest. It’s not clear how CBS might handle any potential conflicts of interest or if TFS might start influencing the network’s programming.

Another traditional tenet of journalism is that editorial staffers are also largely expected to keep their views on politics and other issues to themselves, though it has also been a longtime tradition in newspapers for editors to take stands on local and national issues, though this is typically restricted to the opinion pages. 

Weiss has been vocal on her personal opinion on many hot button issues that spark controversy in today’s political climate.

CBS News announces ombudsman, fulfilling pre-Skydance merger pledge

CBS had previously appointed Kenneth R. Weinstein, who is closely connected to the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, as its ombudsmen. Weinstein lacks any journalism experience.

Weiss’s resume is also lacking any significant experience in leading large-scale newsrooms in any medium, and she has never worked for a television outlet. 

Her most high-profile positions, which included roles at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, focused mainly on the op-ed page and book reviews, meaning a good portion of her career has been spent in roles that, by definition, are focused on curating and writing opinion, review, analysis and commentary-based content. 

In the years following her graduation from Columbia University in 2007, she worked for Haaretz and The Forward. She also spent time as senior news and politics editor at the conservative magazine Tablet. All three of these publications are geared toward Jewish audiences — albeit from across the political spectrum.

Prior to the Paramount-Skydance merge getting the final OK to transfer Paramount’s television licenses to the new corporation, the merger appeared to be stalled. 

Donald Trump and his FCC chairman Brendan Carr had both taken steps to put pressure on the network. 

In a controversial move, CBS News agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit brought by Trump where he accused the network of harming his political reputation by airing two different versions of a “60 Minutes” interview with then-presidential candidate and former vice president Kamala Harris.

David Ellison, who has since taken over Paramount Skydance, also pledged that the network would expand its content to incorporate a broader scope of political ideologies. He also promised to create the ombudsmen position while cutting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the new company.

Shortly after those moves, the FCC gave its blessing to the transfer of CBS’s licenses, lifting the final barrier for the merger to go through.

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