CBS News: Big Changes Ahead

Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief at CBS News, is about to make some big moves. She's planning to hire around 18 new commentators and let go of some staff. This news comes from people inside CBS who know about her plans but asked not to be named. Weiss has been at CBS for a short time, but she's already made waves. She's been trying to change things up, like revamping the CBS Evening News and questioning if the news has been fair. Some people at CBS, like Jan Crawford, support her. Others aren't so happy with her leadership style and the changes she's making. Outside of CBS, some liberal critics think Weiss is doing what the network's owners want. They say the owners are friends with President Trump and want to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. Weiss says that's not true, but she didn't talk to the press about it. Weiss was hired to shake things up at CBS News. She used to work at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The new owners of Paramount, David Ellison, brought her in to make changes. Before Weiss, CBS had to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit. This helped Ellison get approval from Trump's broadcast regulator. Weiss has been working on the CBS Evening News. Tony Dokoupil, the new anchor, said the press often misses the story because they focus too much on advocates and elites. He promised to be more accountable and transparent than Walter Cronkite, the famous CBS anchor.But not everyone is happy with the changes. Some people at CBS were upset when Weiss decided not to air a 60 Minutes story about immigrant abuse. She said it wasn't ready, even though it had been approved by lawyers and promoted. The story ended up airing almost as it was, with some extra comments from Trump officials. The CBS Evening News has also made some controversial choices. They took off a segment called "Eye On America" that talked to regular Americans. Instead, they focused on big news events. On January 6, Dokoupil only mentioned Trump's accusations and a Democrat's response. This upset some people, like Sarah Longwell from the Bulwark. Scott MacFarlane, a CBS Justice correspondent, was also upset. He's been covering the January 6 attack for years but wasn't on the air that night. He talked about it on the BBC instead. Dokoupil also did a light-hearted segment about Marco Rubio, which some people didn't like. Weiss has been trying to get big interviews for CBS. Dokoupil interviewed Trump, and the White House threatened to sue if it wasn't aired in full. CBS said they decided to air it unedited. Some people also noticed that a segment about a shooting by a federal officer didn't air on the main news program. Andrew Heyward, a former CBS News President, said there are always growing pains when starting something new. He thinks the changes at CBS Evening News have been harder because of today's political atmosphere and some mistakes.