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Paramount Skydance named The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as CBS News' new editor-in-chief upon purchasing her online news and commentary outlet, Paramount Skydance chairman David Ellison announced in a statement shared by CBS News on Monday (October 6).
"We are thrilled to welcome Bari and The Free Press to Paramount and CBS News. Bari is a proven champion of independent, principled journalism, and I am confident her entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision will invigorate CBS News. This move is part of Paramount's bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects - directly and passionately - to audiences around the world," Ellison said.
"This is an important initiative for our company and Bari will report directly to me - leading the work of The Free Press and collaborating with our CBS News team in the pursuit of making it the most trusted name in news. We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home," he continued.
The Free Press, which was founded in 2021, will continue to be an independent brand operating separately from CBS News. The outlet has become one of the largest and fastest growing digital media outlets since its launch, with a reported 82% revenue growth during the past 12 months and an increase of subscribers by 86% to 1.5 million overall.
"This is a great moment for The Free Press," Weiss said via CBS News. "This partnership allows our ethos of fearless, independent journalism to reach an enormous, diverse, and influential audience. We honor the extraordinary legacy of CBS News by committing ourselves to a singular mission: building the most trusted news organization of the 21st Century."
Weiss' new role as CBS News' editor-in-chief will "shape editorial priorities, champion core values across platforms, and lead innovation in how the organization reports and delivers the news," working alongside CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, with their partnership reflecting "Paramount's recognition that the future of CBS News as a dynamic, multi-platform newsroom requires unified editorial leadership across television, streaming, digital, audio, social media, and events," according to CBS News.