“`html 
The pushback against wokeness is aiming for CBS News — embodied by Bari Weiss.
In an agreement poised to create major shifts in the established media landscape, Paramount (the parent entity of CBS) has acquired The Free Press (the digital publication of Weiss) for approximately $150 million using a mix of funds and shares.
This is a monumental triumph for Weiss, a vocal commentator from the center-right who departed from an editorial position at the New York Times’ opinion desk half a decade ago, having since prioritized criticizing the “woke left” in her body of work.
Crucially, as part of this arrangement, Weiss will assume the role of editor-in-chief for CBS News — effectively leading an esteemed journalistic institution.
At the time of this writing, the specific strategies Weiss (alongside Paramount CEO David Ellison, who orchestrated the deal) intends to employ for reshaping CBS News remain undefined. However, Paramount has lately appeared intensely interested in appealing to both the Trump administration and right-leaning demographics.
What remains evident is that since Weiss’s departure from the conventional press through her exit from the Times five years prior — openly condemning the paper’s alleged allegiance to progressive ideals and rejection of conflicting opinions — she has consistently scaled to higher echelons of sway and affluence, much to the disappointment of her numerous detractors.
The Free Press, inaugurated just under three years past, has risen as one of the foremost revenue-generating Substack platforms — maybe even the leader — amassing above $10 million annually from approximately 170,000 paid memberships.
Within the multitude of anti-woke newsletters residing on that platform, the Free Press ascended to prominence for several factors. Rather than leaning exclusively on her own authorial voice, Weiss opted to assemble an entire publication incorporating numerous writers and participants. She distinguished herself as an adept networker and fundraiser, initially obtaining seed capital from figures like venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and David Sacks — then following up by accumulating millions further.
Tyler Cowen, the influential economics blogger, shared his reasoning for joining as a Free Press columnist this year, citing its “startup” ethos, Weiss’s personal “charisma,” and noted the publication “has the audience I wish to reach.”
That specific audience — composed of jaded former liberals or centrists, primarily in states leaning blue, who’ve distanced themselves from Democrats and the left yet have not evolved into committed MAGA adherents or traditional conservatives — has manifested its backing, through both readership and funding, given the Free Press’s ideological positioning resonates with what they find important.
Actually, one method for grasping Weiss’s impact involves seeing her as a facilitator of a new cluster on the right, built around current problems and debates which rearranged usual political affiliations. And now, a major proponent of this group — potentially its figurehead — will be granted a chance to reshape CBS News.
Consequently, what are the convictions held by the Free Press segment?
The Five Tenets of the Free Press’s Perspective
Although The Free Press has showcased a diverse set of writers with varying viewpoints across different subjects, I would contend its central ideology hinges on five core principles.
1. Against the “woke” left
Weiss stood among numerous individuals who greeted the “Great Awokening” — marked by the leftward migration within progressives pertaining to issues of identity, especially concerning race and gender — initially with reservations and, progressively, unambiguous resistance.
During her period with the New York Times, Weiss was drawn to voices suggesting something had devolved within progressive dialogue across campuses and elsewhere (penning a frequently discussed piece on an “intellectual dark web”). Her contributions sparked intense debate both internally and externally at the Times, occasionally for factual errors, yet equally stemming from her touching a sensitive subject by suggesting progressives were exhibiting intolerance amidst the Trump era.
Strains reached a breaking point in the summer of 2020, when the opinion section’s head editor, James Bennet, was removed after staffers publicly alleged an op-ed he published had jeopardized Black personnel. Shortly following, Weiss also resigned, publishing her resignation letter on her site, decrying the Times culture. “My own ventures into Wrongthink have rendered me subject to constant harassment by coworkers dissenting with my views,” she stated.
Weiss transitioned to Substack, a platform abundant with flourishing “anti-woke” newsletters. Irritation regarding wokeness and “cancel culture” acted as a potent unifying element: many voiced feelings of social exclusion or imposed self-censorship, expressing their weariness. It wasn’t long before Weiss — who had self-identified as a centrist and disclosed her 2020 vote for Joe Biden — found common ground with conservative figures like Christopher Rufo. They shared common antagonists.
2. Against the “experts”
The leftward drift in major institutions, covering leading media channels, universities, tech corporations such as Facebook and Twitter, particularly troubled several critics of the Great Awokening. To those critics, progressives seemingly dominated these entities, constantly bowing to their pressures — while individuals deviating from the progressive consensus risked deplatforming, facing accusations of disseminating hazardous or prejudiced falsehoods, or enduring job insecurity for articulating disapproved viewpoints.
These organizations and “the experts” at large have thus evolved into a recurring target for criticism by the Free Press — typically depicted as being politically skewed and consistently wrong. (The Free Press began as one of the outlets covering the “Twitter Files” that Elon Musk made available in a bid to discredit his company’s previous management.)
The matters of institutional wokeness interlocked with public health institution criticism during the pandemic. Vaccine skeptics, lockdown critics, and advocates for accelerating school reopenings collectively sensed their opinions were being suppressed. Consequently, the Free Press accommodated this commentary — and indeed, three contributors currently hold senior public health positions within the Trump administration.
The Free Press has further endeavored to widen the parameters of who qualifies as a credible expert, without becoming overtly populist. When the publication convened a recent compilation of expert responses to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s time as health secretary, they enlisted Zeke Emanuel and Emily Oster — yet also included vaccine skeptic Alex Berenson and Vani Hari, the “food babe.”
Nonetheless, recent signs suggest that Free Press editors believe the pendulum has swung excessively. A recent editorial article starts with obligatory condemnations of the public health establishment — before voicing “horror” that Florida’s surgeon general aspires to terminate vaccine requirements for children. Evidently, a relentless, years-long campaign against the “experts” might yield undesirable outcomes.
3. Supportive of Israel — and outraged about antisemitism in progressive spaces
Since Weiss was an undergraduate student at Columbia University around the mid-2000s, she’s engaged with pro-Israel advocates during campus controversies; writing a book entitled How to Fight Anti-Semitism in 2019.
Although such topics remained partly woven into the Free Press’ fabric, they became indispensable to its reporting after the attacks of October 7, 2023. The publication celebrated Israel’s external military campaign, also stating a surge in antisemitism across US college campuses endangered Jewish students.
Even as the war dragged on, the distressing conditions in Gaza have not affected Weiss’ support of what she describes as “a struggle between civilization and barbarism” — namely, between “good and evil.” In August, a Free Press investigation declared widely disseminated photos of severely malnourished Gazan children were misleading, due to these children reportedly battling pre-existing medical problems.
Critics often argue that Weiss’s pro-Israel views clash unfavorably with her critique of further identity politics. “Weiss attacks identity politics as intrinsic to left extremism whilst Jewish identity is central to her personal political stance,” scholar Judith Butler wrote in 2019. Regardless of the internal consistency of the viewpoint, it clearly reaches an audience— particularly post October 7.
4. Against the (anti-Israel) far right
In parallel, the Free Press adopts a largely tolerant attitude toward the present-day right — containing, as approached momentarily, the president along with the highest-ranking officials. Yet, the faction incurring the most criticism revolves around conspiratorial populist factions on the far right. Envision Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, along with Candace Owens.
Weiss expressed concerns in a February address that the “far right” — clarifying that this term differed from “that defined by cable news” — could overtake “what remained of the center-right.” An additional Free Press document, reported in July, insisted, “A visible faction from the MAGA movement is revising American history, reviving dangerous conspiracies, and deleting bans against overt bigotry.”
The claims sometimes reference clearly stated racism, yet very often these instances tend to concern antisemitism (at times claimed, whereas indisputable on occasion) plus condemnations of Israel frequently expressed within parts of the online right. The far right has no fondness for the Free Press either; analyst Darryl Cooper asserted the Free Press’s genuine mission meant “to ensure relatively moderate liberals including conservatives suddenly skeptical of mainstream narratives stay confined to agreed positions regarding Israel.”
5. Measured toward Trump and his administration
The Free Press isn’t an explicitly right-leaning or Trump-favoring publication. The publication serves readers who find Fox News plus further conservative-aligned outlets excessively unyielding, unsophisticated, or deferential facing the president. Nor, alternatively, an anti-Trump outlet — considerably removed from it.
Generally, the Free Press standard interpretation of Trump views him as a politician backed by approximately half of the nation, achieving beneficial accomplishments alongside negative aspects, set apart from an alarming unusual entity accompanied by an aspiring authoritarian regime warranted for disdain via decent individuals. (Weiss declared resentment toward “overzealous, distant, emotional responses” to Trump throughout his initial term, claiming said reactions proved to be “extraordinarily authoritarian or totalitarian within these incentives”).
As Trump opened up his second term and acted on a string of drastic plus authoritarian plans, the Free Press called out concerns (including Trump planning acceptance regarding a jet loaned via Qatar together with going too far via repercussions). Nonetheless, they employed careful measures towards expressing so, to avoid tilting towards an “anti-Trump” publication, considering the resulting loss in influence on the right.
A few commenters who previously enjoyed Weiss’s stands targeting wokeness have remained stunned with regard to attitudes towards Trump’s next term. “The almost total absence with reference toward current government menaces toward freedoms vital regarding habeas corpus, due process, coupled with open campus discussion remains quite noticeable,” Andrew Sullivan submitted, appending; “Whilst there is any coverage, nitpicking arrives with justification for defending Trump.”
“Indeed, PC-SJW-Critical-Woke-Intersectionality remains terrible, yet perspective, please,” Steven Pinker shared by way of X. “Destroying international systems, sucking up toward autocrats, demolishing global economies, planting doubt about vaccines, sharing medical fraud, suffocating vital international relief, forgiving aggressive agitators, stopping data gathering, spewing repetitive lies, alongside oppressing the media, law firms, also universities are far worse.”
Conversely, the Free Press identified multiple aspects of Trump’s upcoming term enjoyed — notably, launching a strike on Iran, afterwards the editors noted; “Trump Stays True to His Pledge On Iran. The planet exists safer for it.”
Will Bari Weiss Truly Reshape CBS News?
Weiss has dedicated a substantial amount of years criticizing mainstream media regarding all perceived wrongdoings, establishing the respective alternatives. Today, she’ll wrestle with a differently-sized challenge — focusing toward implementing personal imprints across an established mainstream TV broadcast channel: the platform for 60 Minutes.
A principal puzzle concerns whether she — accompanied by Paramount CEO David Ellison — aspire transforming CBS News towards exhibiting enhanced sensitivity targeting conservative criticisms, or if plans focus upon remaking matters fully regarding a center-right venture.
As covered through a Semafor story, Weiss debated hiring the old New York Times opinion section chief, James Bennet. Bennet documented at great length perspectives regarding how the Times went awry within 2020, without leaning toward right-wing ideologues; Formerly, James Bennet acted as top editor at The Atlantic, also a primary challenger for assuming editor positions at The Times prior for removal.
Arguably, placing Weiss responsible concerning the mainstream media outlet discounts efforts aiming toward simple refinements. Signifying observers might witness a new rendition involving the “Musk Twitter takeover” playbooks — fundamentally a wrecking ball designed regarding demolishing an old institution combined through forging new ones exhibiting enhanced ideological compliance where former values once applied.
A critical topic remains the preferences for Ellison (the offspring of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, briefly surpassing Elon Musk through ranking as wealthiest individual around the planet the previous month) — in parallel concerning logical reasoning behind issuing a large funding measure regarding the Free Press coupled with Weiss. Sparse insights revolve around David Ellison’s political persuasions; however, his parental unit spent a considerable period supporting Trump while exhibiting loyal approval toward Israel.
Indications further reveal a degree of attentiveness expressed through David Ellison toward the prevailing administration. Through the merger permitting gaining CEO positions passing Trump’s Federal Communications Commission, Paramount finalized a ridiculous baseless legal challenge instigated via Trump referencing how 60 Minutes handled an edit of Kamala Harris interviews last year.
Once firmly entrenched, Trump’s administration issued grievances over how a Face The Nation interview delivered by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went through edits — prompting CBS towards disclosing intentions regarding broadcasting the above-mentioned interviews not processed throughout any edits.
CBS News equally enrolled seasoned conservative thinking personnel Kenneth Weinstein through assuming the ombudsman role last month, involving monitoring external claims relating to media reports – executing obligations generated with the FCC towards acquiring the above-mentioned mergers.
How the arrangement placing Weiss to manage operations aboard a broadcast channel is yet to materialize. Overt ideological disruption might drive potential personnel objections, otherwise departures. These might align specifically towards satisfying Weiss intentions, to dismantle strongholds involving existing media institutions coupled with delivering new implementations throughout mentioned placements.
Updated by October 6, by 9:38 am ET: Originally published from earlier during Monday mornings, it gets followed by updates due to closing Paramount alongside Free Press deals.
“`
Source: vox.com
