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highplainsdem

(60,608 posts)
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 05:56 PM Tuesday

CBS News chief Bari Weiss tells staff 'we're toast' if they continue on current path

Source: Independent

Addressing her staff three months into her job as CBS News boss, Bari Weiss on Tuesday invoked legendary newsman Walter Cronkite as a symbol of old thinking and said that if the network continues with its current strategy, “we're toast.”

-snip-

No CBS News figure is revered quite as much as Cronkite, the “CBS Evening News” anchor dubbed “the most trusted man in America” during the 1960s and 1970s. Weiss said she understood the nostalgia.

“We can't reverse time's arrow,” she said, according to the copy her remarks. “He had two competitors. We have two billion, give or take.”

-snip-

Weiss said that “we in this building need to reflect more of the political friction that animates our national conversation” and “widen the aperture” of stories that CBS tells and voices that the network speaks to. CBS has notably had interviews with several Trump administration figures, and Trump was interviewed on “60 Minutes” on Nov. 2 and by evening news anchor Tony Dokoupil on Jan. 13.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/cbs-news-donald-trump-charlie-kirk-masih-alinejad-hr-mcmaster-b2908958.html

59 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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CBS News chief Bari Weiss tells staff 'we're toast' if they continue on current path (Original Post) highplainsdem Tuesday OP
She's hastening its demise. RandySF Tuesday #1
CBS is already "toast" Sessuch Tuesday #23
She has no fucking clue. NewHendoLib Tuesday #2
So she's gonna double down for burnt toast. 🤨 tanyev Tuesday #3
She can't attract an audience that advertisers give a hoot about. C_U_L8R Tuesday #4
love it samsingh Tuesday #27
"The Story" Kid Berwyn Tuesday #5
If it heads the direction Weiss wants, let it die Whyisthisstillclose Tuesday #6
Let the entire legacy media die. They have refused to do the duty of the 4th estate Bluetus Tuesday #46
"widen the aperture" Nasruddin Tuesday #7
Why don't they have radical left academics and Portland anarchists on? Prairie Gates Tuesday #11
In photography, a larger lens aperture results in a shallower depth of field Seinan Sensei Yesterday #54
Cronkite didn't "widen the aperture"...... SergeStorms 23 hrs ago #57
Turns out that becoming Trump's lying media propaganda network is not so successful. Lonestarblue Tuesday #8
Nobody wants to see goofy internet discourse on their evening news Prairie Gates Tuesday #9
I'm not sure what her message is. CrispyQ Tuesday #10
Her message is RW gibberish and ego. highplainsdem Tuesday #41
My guess: "Scoops" means instant regurgitation of anything her buds at the White House want disseminated. tanyev Tuesday #50
Catering to Christian Nationalist and other immoral and deeply Un-American factions is the suicidal course. pat_k Tuesday #12
Why watch Fox-Lite? Mz Pip Tuesday #13
+1. dalton99a Tuesday #14
+2. byronius Tuesday #34
Why watch "Faux Faux" when you can get real Faux? hvn_nbr_2 Tuesday #35
How's this for "a symbol of old thinking" BaronChocula Tuesday #15
She is trying to turn CBS into Fox Bluestocking Tuesday #16
Bari Weiss, cofounder of Jews for Hitler. paleotn Tuesday #17
How DARE she even speak his name??? niyad Tuesday #18
The woman is a Keepthesoulalive Tuesday #19
Who was the idiot that hired her? WTH Barbegazi Yesterday #55
Well, CBS DownriverDem Tuesday #20
Wasn't haryn Tuesday #21
See B S News MW67 Tuesday #22
Without Colbert, all they have left is football for me. BidenRocks Tuesday #24
Extra dark, please. nt eppur_se_muova Tuesday #25
Stupid person UpInArms Tuesday #26
News without truth and integrity has no future bucolic_frolic Tuesday #28
Hey trump lackey what do you think Cronkite would say to you/CBS .......maybe something on the line I quit go pound sand turbinetree Tuesday #29
for over a decade now, they've been telling us "we need to hear more from" the bigots in america unblock Tuesday #30
Bari(barely) damifino10 Tuesday #31
She must think she's so smart... Mike Nelson Tuesday #32
Oh how cute, she thinks she's a news legend. Crowman2009 Tuesday #33
"We should showcase more racism, more authoritarian anger and violence, more eliminationism" struggle4progress Tuesday #36
Bari Weiss is 700 Club material, not serious news. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Tuesday #37
Do they have a board that can fire her? Puppyjive Tuesday #38
Bari has been an outstanding Toastess Zambero Tuesday #39
Too late. The toast is already burned beyond recognition relayerbob Tuesday #40
SHE is "the current path" Skittles Tuesday #42
A gay "news" executive working for and licking the shoes of an anti-gay President wolfie001 Tuesday #43
The MAGA movement is losing on all fronts. The nation has rebuked fasscism. Martin68 Tuesday #44
"He had two competitors. We have two billion, give or take." LudwigPastorius Tuesday #45
Keep the greatest news anchor's name out of your fucking mouth. dem4decades Tuesday #47
No one wants Fox lite. Old Crank Tuesday #48
My wife and I have already stopped viewing CBS news since Barri Weiss took the helm. The changes have been clear and KPN Tuesday #49
An amubulatory bundle of shitty business cliches, with that extra dash of extra-stupid. hatrack Tuesday #51
This is Vichy News thought crime Tuesday #52
CBS News was thrown upon the altar as a sacrifice to close a merger that the corporate headquarters wanted. cstanleytech Yesterday #53
Dumb fk Bari figures out that she was brought in to take the fall. Hassler Yesterday #56
Those Paramount+ cancellations rolling in? I did,hope others do to. Had that service for over a decade Bengus81 23 hrs ago #58
Celebrating that CBS booked right-wing radio host and former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch for CBS Mornings muriel_volestrangler 22 hrs ago #59

C_U_L8R

(49,067 posts)
4. She can't attract an audience that advertisers give a hoot about.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:03 PM
Tuesday

In fact, it seems she’s so incompetent that she can’t attract hardly any audience at all.
But please, proceed. We won’t watch.

Kid Berwyn

(23,470 posts)
5. "The Story"
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:03 PM
Tuesday

No matter what Bari does to or for Ellison and his oligarchical brethren, it won't save Corporate McPravda.

Bluetus

(2,425 posts)
46. Let the entire legacy media die. They have refused to do the duty of the 4th estate
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 10:38 PM
Tuesday

We need to be putting 100% of our efforts into where younger people are getting their information. F the legacy media. They are dying as their audience literally dies. There is nothing worth saving.

Nasruddin

(1,199 posts)
7. "widen the aperture"
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:12 PM
Tuesday

How about another interview with President Trump?
Probably Russell Vought hasn't had enough attention yet. That should get the aperture wide as a church door, 'twill serve.

Prairie Gates

(7,430 posts)
11. Why don't they have radical left academics and Portland anarchists on?
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:16 PM
Tuesday

You know, widen the aperture?

It's always only one way these supposed free speech absolutists. When they say "More voices," they never mean a critique of capitalism, or a radical argument for reparations. they always mean more capitalist propaganda, more oligarchs having a say, more abusers abusing with impunity.

It's a lie, and it's always been a lie.

SergeStorms

(20,130 posts)
57. Cronkite didn't "widen the aperture"......
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 06:53 AM
23 hrs ago

He narrowed it, so Americans could see through the government propaganda about the Vietnam "conflict."

You're a corporate shill, Bari.

Lonestarblue

(13,298 posts)
8. Turns out that becoming Trump's lying media propaganda network is not so successful.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:13 PM
Tuesday

We already have Fox and Newsmax. The category of fake news is full, especially with the Washington Post piling on. They’ve lost so many subscribers that they're now offering subscriptions for 50 cents.

Prairie Gates

(7,430 posts)
9. Nobody wants to see goofy internet discourse on their evening news
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:14 PM
Tuesday

Just like people could distinguish between the evening news and the shock jocks of the 80s-90s. Weis thinks it's all one thing: 2 billion competitors. That's simply bullshit.

Walter Cronkite had tens of thousands by that count: every crackpot pamphleteer would be one, every backwoods-ass preacher.

CrispyQ

(40,769 posts)
10. I'm not sure what her message is.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:15 PM
Tuesday
CBS News is going to put a huge emphasis on producing scoops, she said.

“Not scoops that expire minutes later. But investigative scoops. And, crucially, scoops of ideas. Scoops of explanation. This is where we can soar — and where we'll be investing," she said.


Scoops of ice cream, too?

"Political friction." What does that mean? Stories that focus more on conflict? For ratings?

"Widen the aperture?" Does that include more liberal/leftist/democratic guests & voices? Or more extreme right wing ones?

tanyev

(48,794 posts)
50. My guess: "Scoops" means instant regurgitation of anything her buds at the White House want disseminated.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 11:19 PM
Tuesday

pat_k

(12,758 posts)
12. Catering to Christian Nationalist and other immoral and deeply Un-American factions is the suicidal course.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:19 PM
Tuesday

She's got it completely assed-backwards.

Mz Pip

(28,376 posts)
13. Why watch Fox-Lite?
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:23 PM
Tuesday

If those are the viewers she’s trying to attract, it’s not going to happen. Those viewers will stick with Fox and Newsmax.

hvn_nbr_2

(6,754 posts)
35. Why watch "Faux Faux" when you can get real Faux?
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 08:20 PM
Tuesday

I think I'll start calling CBS News "Faux Faux".

BaronChocula

(4,114 posts)
15. How's this for "a symbol of old thinking"
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:28 PM
Tuesday

Just prior to the 1972 election CBS News anchored by Cronkite devoted a large chunk of time to the growing Watergate scandal in one broadcast. The White House complained to CBS head honcho Bill Paley and he had the next follow-up segment on Watergate set for a later date truncated.

This is history repeating at a higher volume.

paleotn

(21,770 posts)
17. Bari Weiss, cofounder of Jews for Hitler.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:30 PM
Tuesday

That piece of shit shouldn't be allowed to even utter Walter's name.

turbinetree

(27,123 posts)
29. Hey trump lackey what do you think Cronkite would say to you/CBS .......maybe something on the line I quit go pound sand
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:28 PM
Tuesday

And that's the News for January 27, 2026...................bet you don't even know that do you Weiss, that was his signature sign--off.................

unblock

(56,029 posts)
30. for over a decade now, they've been telling us "we need to hear more from" the bigots in america
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:32 PM
Tuesday

because if there's one group of people that's been ignored throughout american history, yeah, it's the bigots and the sexists, and gosh, they deserve to finally be heard.

"widen the aperture" sounds like more of the same justification for the same crap, right-wing propaganda.

more of the "political friction" is exactly what the right wing wants. political friction is fundamentally a part of white nationalist agenda. because minorities and woman are supposed to howl and cry and complain about being treated as second class citizens or worse because that's how these white nationalists know white men are first class citizens.

here's an idea, how about we hear more from the *majority* of americans who are saying *WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON AND WHY ARE YOU REPORTING ON IT IN A WAY THAT NORMALIZES IT AND SUPPORTS IT AND PROPAGATES THE LIES AND HATE??"



damifino10

(158 posts)
31. Bari(barely)
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:35 PM
Tuesday

There was no black on that toast until you arrived
A perfect example of the "Peter Principle" if I have ever seen one.

Mike Nelson

(10,941 posts)
32. She must think she's so smart...
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:46 PM
Tuesday

... coming up with all that quotable verbiage. I think we should call her Bari T Weiss (the T is for toast).

Puppyjive

(942 posts)
38. Do they have a board that can fire her?
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 09:25 PM
Tuesday

She has caused CBS to lose viewership because she is navigating towards conservatism. Conservatives have a problem with the truth and it's been on display for the world to see.

Zambero

(9,931 posts)
39. Bari has been an outstanding Toastess
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 09:35 PM
Tuesday

Not motivated by any journalistic principles. All bottom line.

relayerbob

(7,385 posts)
40. Too late. The toast is already burned beyond recognition
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 09:39 PM
Tuesday

Weiss needs to understand that facts and truth are what news is about, not 2 billion podcasters screaming bullshit out of every orifice. But, she doesn't care, and is getting paid well to not care.

And "time' arrow"? Really? Is she in second fucking grade?

wolfie001

(7,291 posts)
43. A gay "news" executive working for and licking the shoes of an anti-gay President
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 09:58 PM
Tuesday

She makes me want to vomit. Since she's wealthy, hate doesn't affect her. Or Tim Apple

LudwigPastorius

(14,330 posts)
45. "He had two competitors. We have two billion, give or take."
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 10:38 PM
Tuesday

That she considers YouTube and TikTok posters and influencers as competition pretty much says it all concerning her idea of what the news division of a major network should be.

KPN

(17,193 posts)
49. My wife and I have already stopped viewing CBS news since Barri Weiss took the helm. The changes have been clear and
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 11:17 PM
Tuesday

are clearly biased toward -- at a minimum -- bothsides-ism, i.e., the two parties are equally misguided, wrong, cruel and corrupt. Smells like strong bias against Dems to us -- putrid.

hatrack

(64,438 posts)
51. An amubulatory bundle of shitty business cliches, with that extra dash of extra-stupid.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 11:23 PM
Tuesday

Bari Weiss -

thought crime

(1,322 posts)
52. This is Vichy News
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 11:39 PM
Tuesday

Avoid Trump law suits, collaborate, play nice. Oh, and appoint a fascist management team.

cstanleytech

(28,281 posts)
53. CBS News was thrown upon the altar as a sacrifice to close a merger that the corporate headquarters wanted.
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 12:28 AM
Yesterday

There are now only two ways back now for them and the first is for the ones that bribed Trump is for them to be held criminally liable and be sentenced to prison or for the corporation to sell the network itself to someone that actually has a decent reputation and is willing to work to save the brand.

Odds of either happening? Zero.

Bengus81

(9,926 posts)
58. Those Paramount+ cancellations rolling in? I did,hope others do to. Had that service for over a decade
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 06:56 AM
23 hrs ago

It will be gone in August..........

muriel_volestrangler

(105,733 posts)
59. Celebrating that CBS booked right-wing radio host and former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch for CBS Mornings
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 08:01 AM
22 hrs ago

Wow. Dana Loesch was unhinged before almost anyone in the public eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Loesch

This brought her to the announcement of 18 new contributors to the network, many of whom are already Free Press writers, such as Patrick McGee, Coleman Hughes and conservative historian Niall Ferguson. Others she named are well-known podcasters, journalists and political figures – though some have also courted controversy throughout their careers.

Mark Hyman, a “functional medicine” adherent and close ally of HHS director and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has become a leading face of the MAHA movement, is one of the new contributors. So is popular science and health podcaster Andrew Huberman, who has faced criticism for peddling misinformation.

I haven't heard of one far-left, or even centre-left, "contributor" in her list. Patrick McGee may be apolitical (but I'm not sure), and that's as good as it gets. This is basically "jobs for Bari's friends".
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