The Hidden Truth About Bari Weiss: She's Actually Boring

Throughout her ten-year media career, Bari Weiss has largely focused on a single narrative. Since founding The Free Press after leaving The New York Times in 2020, she has covered topics ranging from college campuses, transgender issues, Democrats, Israel, and free speech. Yet, the core theme of her work has been the media itself, which she believes is decaying under the influence of a new orthodoxy of social justice. Weiss wrote in her resignation letter that Intellectual curiositylet alone risk-takingis now a liability.

Even when The Times published columns by David Brooks and Brett Stephens and attempted to accommodate extreme Republican viewpoints, Weiss painted herself as a rare voice willing to confront what she calls the woke establishment. Despite criticism of her work as shallow and reductive, she positioned herself as courageous in challenging prevailing norms.

Her approach proved commercially successful. She named her new platform The Free Press, reflecting her own style: provocative, repetitive, and minimally curious. The outlet quickly gained traction and was sold earlier this year to CBS for $150 million, making Weiss the editor-in-chief of CBS News.

The acquisition aligns with the interests of the networks new owners, Trump-supporting billionaires Larry and David Ellison. The Free Press editorial line supports powerful figures, criticizes opponents of Israel, diminishes activists, largely ignores economic issues, and portrays itself as the sole source of truth.

Now at CBS, Weiss is implementing a tepid format that many consider outdated. Her mission is to eliminate wokeness and shield the network from potential lawsuits from Donald Trump. This has led to the departure of respected journalists, while Weiss alternates between hiring conservative pundits and interchangeable media figures. Observers argue that she is running a major journalistic institution into the ground.

At a recent Jewish Leadership Conference, Weiss described her vision for CBS News as redefining the boundaries of acceptable debate. She intends to marginalize figures like Hasan Piker, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes while promoting voices she deems centrist. She emphasized representing Americans on both the center-left and center-right who support equality of opportunity, liberty, freedom, and a truthful understanding of current events.

However, Weisss interpretation of media reality seems selective. She presents fringe figures as evidence of media decline, ignoring the broader landscape of responsible journalism. CBS News has historically provided in-depth coverage for mainstream audiences long before Weiss assumed control. She claims her leadership will restore this approach, though her plan focuses more on who occupies the conversation than on journalistic rigor.

Weiss criticizes traditional centrist news as unappealing and concedes that the era of anchors like Walter Cronkite is over. Her solution is to engineer debates between center-left and center-right figures, exemplified by a Free Press debate over gun control featuring Dana Loesch and Alan Dershowitz. Critics argue that these choices are poor exemplars of balanced discussion, and the format mirrors cable news theatrics rather than substantive reporting.

Ultimately, Weisss tenure at CBS appears to prioritize ideological control over journalistic quality. Her leadership risks making CBS more restrictive and less rigorous, particularly regarding Israel coverage, while lowering overall standards. Observers conclude that the network is adapting to reflect its editor-in-chief: more constrained, less informed, and more aligned with Weisss personal vision.

Author: Sophia Brooks