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To critics, Bari Weiss, who had zero TV experience when David Ellison put the Free Press founder in charge of CBS News and "60 Minutes" last fall, has been good at one thing: destroying what had been one of the industry's most venerable news organizations.
Here's an assessment from former "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, who told Variety's Marlow Stern: "Everything she’s touched has turned to shit. Everything she’s touched has gone colossally wrong. And I don’t think she’s showed any talent for this position. She’s only fulfilling other people’s agendas.”
So: What is the agenda for Weiss, and what is David Ellison's endgame here? One interpretation of the strategy is that "TV is dying" as one industry observer told Variety's Brian Steinberg. In that context, Ellison is giving Weiss free rein to overhaul the division to see if she can boost the profile (and revenue) of CBS News and "60 Minutes." Thus far, however, it's hard to see what Weiss has done except cause extreme dysfunction at CBS News, put herself in an unwanted spotlight and fueled speculation that she's trying to push MAGA-friendly viewpoints.
How long a leash is Ellison giving Bari Weiss? The conventional wisdom is that Ellison is entirely focused on getting Paramount's $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. over the finish line. The cynical take: Anything Weiss does to shake up the status quo at CBS News can only benefit that goal, if it makes it seem like Ellison is trying to minimize coverage that antagonizes Donald Trump.
But at some point, dollars and cents will matter. Paramount has been looking to hire a business executive to head up CBS News (and, in theory, CNN) — however, as Steinberg reports, that exec would not likely have "any editorial or creative control greater than Weiss." For now, it seems, Ellison is pleased to have Weiss move fast and break things. Is it possible he sees all the hand-wringing over the future of CBS News and "60 Minutes" from veterans of the biz as evidence that she's doing something right?
This newsletter features Variety's "Strictly Business" podcast. In this week's episode, Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios has a wide-ranging discussion with Variety‘s Cynthia Littleton, spanning everything from how MGM has changed Amazon, the future of the James Bond franchise and the controversy over "Melania."
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— Todd Spangler
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