Substack Takes Over CBS News in Surprise Move
▼ Summary
– Paramount is acquiring The Free Press and appointing its founder Bari Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News.
– Weiss previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times before resigning in 2020, citing an “illiberal environment.”
– The Free Press, which started as a Substack newsletter, grew its revenue by 82% and subscribers to 1.5 million, including 170,000 paid subscriptions.
– Weiss’s appointment follows a government condition for CBS to air more diverse viewpoints, potentially satisfying a demand for conservative content.
– Paramount reportedly paid $150 million for the acquisition, and Weiss will continue running The Free Press while leading CBS News.
In a surprising corporate maneuver, Paramount has acquired the independent media outlet The Free Press, originally launched on the Substack platform. This strategic acquisition includes appointing the publication’s founder, Bari Weiss, to the influential role of editor-in-chief at CBS News. The announcement, made public on Monday, signals a significant shift in the direction of one of America’s most established television news networks.
Weiss brings a notable background in journalism to her new position. Her career includes serving as an op-ed and book review editor at The Wall Street Journal from 2013 through 2017. She later transitioned to The New York Times, where her role focused on expanding the newspaper’s roster of conservative commentators during the initial term of the Trump presidency. Her departure from the Times in 2020 was marked by a public statement criticizing what she described as an “illiberal environment” within the institution.
Following her exit from traditional media, Weiss ventured into the world of independent publishing. She inaugurated a Substack newsletter titled “Common Sense” in 2021, which subsequently grew into the full-fledged media organization known as The Free Press. The company promotes itself as being founded on the principles that historically underpinned exemplary American journalism. Official reports highlight the publication’s impressive growth, with revenue surging by 82 percent in the last year. Its subscriber base expanded by 86 percent, reaching a total of 1.5 million individuals, which includes 170,000 paying supporters.
The decision to place Weiss at the helm of CBS News follows a series of consequential events for the network. The Trump administration previously secured a $16 million legal settlement from CBS related to an interview the network broadcast with Kamala Harris, who is now a Democratic presidential candidate for the 2024 election. Subsequently, regulatory approval for the merger between Skydance and Paramount was granted on the specific condition that CBS would commit to presenting a wider “diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.” This requirement has been widely interpreted as a governmental push for the network to incorporate more conservative perspectives, an objective that Weiss’s leadership is positioned to address.
While Paramount has chosen not to reveal the specific financial details of the acquisition, a report from The New York Times indicates the deal was valued at approximately $150 million, comprising a mix of cash and stock. According to an internal memo from Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, Weiss will maintain her responsibilities running The Free Press concurrently with her new duties at CBS News. In her dual role, she is expected to continue her stated mission of “amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum” across both media entities.
(Source: The Verge)
