CBS Staffers ‘Won’t Be Punished’ for Not Responding to Bari Weiss

Given the history of journalists getting laid off over the past 10-plus years, many staffers immediately began scrambling over what the true purpose of Weiss' get-to-know-you email was.

By Audra Heinrichs | October 14, 2025 | 5:47pm

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CBS Staffers ‘Won’t Be Punished’ for Not Responding to Bari Weiss

Last week, Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News after its parent company, Paramount Skydance, acquired The Free Press, which grew out of Substack she started in 2020, in a reported $150 million deal. Weiss has exactly zero experience reporting (aka the bulk of “doing the fucking news“), let alone running a traditional news outlet, and her appointment has been met with many skeptics. And so far, she’s proving them right.

At the end of last week, Weiss reportedly sent an email to staffers with the purported purpose of aligning “on achieving a shared vision for CBS News.” In the email, Weiss told her new underlings that she sought to “understand how you spend your working hours — and, ideally, what you’ve made (or are making) that you’re most proud of. I’m also interested in hearing your views on what’s working; what’s broken or substandard; and how we can be better.”

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“Please be blunt—it will help me greatly,” Weiss added. She asked for responses by Tuesday (today).

Given the rich and storied history of journalists getting laid off over the past 10-plus years, many staffers immediately began scrambling over what the true purpose of this memo was; what their potential responses might be used for; and whether the “strictest of confidence” Weiss promised could possibly be honored. The Writer’s Guild of America East instructed its union members at CBS News not to answer until CBS was more transparent about its purpose. In turn, the network said there wouldn’t be ramifications for ignoring the message.

“The company responded today and informed us that you will not be disciplined if you do not respond to the email, indicating that a response is optional,” a Tuesday email to WGAE members at CBS read. “The company further stated that if you choose to respond, it will not be a basis for discipline, discharge, or layoff.”

So far, at least one tabloid-style Free Press story has made its way over to CBS: Its resident Zohran Mamdani watcher Olivia Reingold warned that “Some NYPD officers worry about Mamdani becoming the NYC mayor.” To that I say, hell yeah brother.

If this is the level of “journalism” that CBS News staffers have to compete with, I wouldn’t be worried for their jobs—except for the bleak reality that it’s exactly the kind Weiss will almost certainly be pushing.

At least my CBS colleagues have the WGAE…

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