By: Fern Sidman

In a dramatic development that has sent ripples through the media landscape, CBS News’ newly appointed editor in chief Bari Weiss made her editorial debut in a way that left no doubt she intends to reshape the network’s tone, priorities, and journalistic culture. After several days of quiet observation during her first week at the helm, Weiss broke her silence at the network’s Thursday morning editorial meeting — and, as The New York Post reported on Thursday, her first decisive intervention focused squarely on the Israel-Hamas peace deal and the figures behind it.

The Post learned that Weiss, a 41-year-old journalist known for her intellectual independence, support of Israel, and unflinching opposition to antisemitism, made her “presence known” by steering CBS’s editorial direction toward the most consequential foreign policy breakthrough of the year — the U.S.-brokered Trump peace framework, which secured the release of dozens of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity and brought a tenuous end to the two-year war in Gaza.

According to sources quoted in The New York Post report, Weiss instructed booking producers to move swiftly in securing interviews with the key architects of the deal — Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the businessman-turned-Middle East envoy who has become one of President Trump’s most trusted foreign policy advisers. “She was vocal on the bookings for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire,” one insider told the Post. “She wanted Kushner, Witkoff, and other administration figures who shaped the plan to speak directly to CBS audiences.”

This was, as one staffer told The Post, “the first time she really got involved.”

Weiss’s arrival at CBS marks a turning point for a network that has spent years battling accusations of liberal bias, internal dysfunction, and eroding viewer trust. Her appointment follows the blockbuster $150 million acquisition of her media startup, The Free Press, by CBS-owner Paramount Skydance, a merger orchestrated by David Ellison, the 41-year-old CEO who has promised to restore credibility and ideological balance to one of America’s oldest news institutions.

Ellison announced the move in a memo earlier this week, obtained by The New York Post, describing Weiss as a journalist who embodies “rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum.” The memo, sent to all CBS News staff, expressed Ellison’s frustration with what he called the network’s “partisan culture” and its descent into “hostile disputes” over editorial priorities.

“Bari Weiss is here to restore integrity,” one CBS insider told The Post. “She’s not here to play referee — she’s here to change the entire tone of how CBS covers the news.”

Indeed, Weiss’s reputation precedes her. A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and former New York Times opinion editor, she left that paper in 2020 amid controversy over what she described as a newsroom “hostile to intellectual diversity.” Her subsequent work at The Free Press — an independent journalism platform that became a hub for “anti-woke” reporting and heterodox opinions — cemented her standing as one of the few high-profile journalists equally willing to criticize both the left and the right.

As The New York Post reported, Weiss’s arrival at CBS has “roiled the liberal network,” with some insiders describing the newsroom as a “snake pit” divided over issues of ideology, identity, and editorial control. Those divisions have only deepened in recent years as the network faced public criticism — and private boardroom pressure — over its coverage of Israel, the Trump presidency, and the broader culture wars.

A particularly bruising episode occurred when “60 Minutes” aired a controversial segment featuring former State Department officials who resigned over the Biden administration’s support for Israel during the Gaza war. The American Jewish Committee, as cited by The New York Post, blasted the segment as “shockingly one-sided, lacking factual accuracy, and reliant on misguided information.”

According to insiders, that report — coupled with similar missteps in Middle East coverage — drew the ire of Shari Redstone, then the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global. Redstone, herself a long-time supporter of Israel, reportedly pressed senior executives to “course-correct” what she viewed as a troubling drift into editorial activism.

The fallout contributed to a period of instability that culminated in CBS’s merger with Paramount Skydance, an $8 billion deal that Ellison described as a “recommitment to excellence and neutrality in journalism.” In fact, the company’s merger filing with the Federal Communications Commission included an explicit pledge to address “bias complaints” within CBS News — a promise that Weiss’s appointment is now seen as fulfilling.

During Thursday’s 9 a.m. editorial meeting, according to The New York Post, Weiss shifted from observer to active participant, honing in on coverage of the historic Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. She reportedly emphasized that CBS must go beyond traditional diplomatic reporting and engage with the key figures driving the Trump administration’s foreign policy breakthrough.

Weiss directed the booking team to “move quickly” to secure interviews with Jared Kushner — the former senior adviser to President Trump and architect of the original Abraham Accords — and Steve Witkoff, the billionaire developer who has played a pivotal role as Trump’s personal emissary in the Middle East.

In Weiss’s view, according to one insider quoted in The Post report, these interviews are essential to understanding not only the ceasefire itself but also the broader strategic framework that has, against all odds, isolated Hamas and brought unprecedented regional stability. “She wanted voices that weren’t just the usual talking heads or foreign ministry spokespeople,” the insider said. “She wanted the people who actually made it happen.”

Jenna Gibson, executive editorial producer for CBS News, reportedly introduced herself to Weiss during the meeting and noted that she was already working with Margaret Brennan, the network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of “Face the Nation,” to line up the administration figures.

For CBS, Weiss’s assertiveness could not come at a more sensitive moment. As The New York Post recently revealed, the network has spent months navigating multiple high-profile controversies that have eroded public trust.

In one instance, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump over what his legal team described as “biased editing” of a “60 Minutes” interview with then–Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Though the network denied wrongdoing, it ultimately settled the suit — with Ellison reportedly adding another $20 million in pro-MAGA advertising commitments to secure the deal’s final approval, according to Trump’s public remarks.

This episode, coupled with a string of scandals involving former CBS executives, made the network a political flashpoint long before Weiss arrived. But Weiss’s tenure appears designed to signal a fresh start — one that emphasizes journalistic independence, intellectual diversity, and the rebuilding of viewer confidence.

In just a few days, Weiss has already made clear that her leadership will not be symbolic. Her first editorial directive — elevating the coverage of Trump’s Israel peace deal — signals both a return to traditional reporting standards and a new willingness to challenge the assumptions that have guided network journalism for the past decade.

Her appointment also represents a significant cultural shift for CBS. As The New York Post report noted, Weiss’s “right-of-center” perspective, her skepticism of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates, and her outspoken criticism of media groupthink have made her a lightning rod in elite journalistic circles. But for Ellison and the Paramount Skydance leadership, those qualities are exactly what CBS News needs to regain credibility with a disillusioned public.

“She’s pragmatic, fearless, and unafraid of breaking sacred cows,” one CBS executive told The Post. “Whether people love her or hate her, they can’t ignore her. And that’s exactly what this network needs.”

The coming months will test whether Weiss can bridge CBS’s fractured newsroom and execute Ellison’s vision of a revitalized, balanced media powerhouse. Her early focus on the Israel-Hamas story — and on the Trump team’s central role in ending the conflict — suggests she intends to reposition CBS as a platform for complex, serious, and globally relevant journalism.

As one longtime producer told The New York Post, “It’s been years since someone walked into that newsroom and commanded immediate respect. Bari did that in four days.”

If that momentum continues, CBS News — once written off as a relic of broadcast liberalism — may be on the verge of a remarkable reinvention.

In the words of The New York Post, Bari Weiss isn’t merely running CBS News. She’s redefining it.