{"id":7941027,"date":"2026-01-29T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7941027"},"modified":"2026-01-29T21:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T05:03:28","slug":"letter-to-bari-weiss-cbs-news-vision-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/media-platforms\/journalism\/letter-to-bari-weiss-cbs-news-vision-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to Bari Weiss: Soaring Words for CBS, but Your Solutions Are Fuzzy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

After wading through 10 pages of Bari Weiss\u2019s vision for the future of CBS News, <\/a>and for the future of news in general, I\u2019m a little lost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are soaring phrases about \u201cseeking the truth, serving the public and ferociously guarding our independence.\u201d There are earnest calls to \u201cwiden the aperture,\u201d and \u201cto be the home for the hardest conversations and boldest debates.\u201d Exciting. Daring. Brave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And BIG. Weiss doesn\u2019t shrink from stating her grander vision, a desire to do no less than \u201cfix this country we all love\u201d in creating a \u201cshared source of trust.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words are nice, the sentiments ambitious and the goal indisputably noble. We all want a source of shared trust in this time of political division, when competing sets of realities are playing out every night on opposing cable news stations. At a time when social media feeds amplify crackpots like Candace Owens, malevolent liars like Tucker Carlson and I\u2019m-no-expert-but-I-have-opinions podcaster Joe Rogan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do you rebuild that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weiss\u2019s ideas about how to do that are very unclear. Much of it sounds an awful lot like the principles of basic journalism \u2013 truth-telling, information-gathering, equipping viewers with the facts, “even if it offends their sensibilities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s be honest \u2013 this is coded language. It\u2019s a lot of fancy-stepping words for what we know Weiss really believes, which is bringing in a right-leaning point of view as a counterweight to what she sees as a left-woke-progressive drive to traditional news institutions, in this case CBS News.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what she means when she talks about equipping viewers \u201cwith ALL the facts\u201d \u2013 even offensive ones. (Wink, wink.) And anybody who isn\u2019t OK with that, she hints strongly, should leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve read the speech a couple of times, seeking to grab hold of a central theme, a clear plan. Weiss is right about framing the problem she needs to solve: CBS News has been busy hanging on to its shrinking, older audience, and failing. Instead, she argues, CBS News needs to be about the business of embracing the 21st century by expanding its core, by finding potential new, young viewers where they are \u2013 on YouTube, streaming apps, social media and podcasts. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bari\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tLetter to Bari Weiss: CBS News Is Your Date With Destiny and the Chance of a Lifetime\u00a0<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

To which I can only enthusiastically nod, Yes. Many of the things she points out are obvious to any of us professionals in media who have been toiling for two decades or so to figure out how news survives in the age of the Internet and social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hardly a revelation to point out that your news products need to touch every facet of modern communication \u2013 YouTube, TikTok, X, vertical video. It\u2019s a little, um, 1970s to point out that CBS News does not merely compete with the other news broadcasters. And speaking of retro, she does herself no favors by bringing the antiquated print \u201cmasthead\u201d to CBS News. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello, 21st\u00a0century. Every one of us news entrepreneurs \u2013 including me in starting TheWrap in 2009, including Weiss in starting the Free Press in 2021 \u2013 knows that news moves in real time, and has to be offered in a 360-degree set of platforms. We all know that journalists need to build personal brands and post on their social media, and have podcasts and write books and have speaking engagements. (Doesn\u2019t \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Anderson Cooper do exactly that?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And even some of the proposed methods sound great. After all, who can argue with the goal of having your \u201cstories reach the largest number of people possible\u201d? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing: I like many of the 19 new contributors very much. Futurist tech thinker Derek Thompson, Iranian-American champion of women\u2019s rights Masih Alinejad, health advocate Mark Hyman, libertarian Niall Ferguson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tony
Tony Dokoupil (Credit: Michele Crowe\/CBS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s the op-ed page. That\u2019s not the news gathering operation. Once again, Weiss seems to be falling into the trap of her own predilection for expert opinion rather than hardcore news gathering, which is the bedrock of CBS News.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because here\u2019s where she\u2019s dead wrong in stating that because of social media and AI, basic information is a commodity. How strongly can I say this? NO<\/em>.\u00a0Basic facts on which we all agree are at great risk. And institutions like CBS News are crucial in our democracy by presenting fact-based reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to driving deep stories, or offering expert opinions, CBS News \u2013 and all legacy news institutions \u2013 have to provide a baseline of news reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now live in a world where Americans need sources they can trust on basic facts: who won the primary? What is the unemployment number? What does the latest research say about vaccines? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where trust is key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weiss talked in her speech about setting a news agenda. The aspiration of having an investigative piece on CBSNews.com and YouTube. Featuring it on the evening news that night. Then again on CBS\u2019s morning show. Then a sit down on \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d \u201cand on and on and on. We create the wave and then we ride it,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, sure, sometimes. But sometimes you just have to help readers know what is happening in the war in Ukraine. Or that President Trump lied from some podium. Or that there\u2019s a dispute in NATO. Sometimes you need to set a standard that viewers can trust with basic news reporting: What’s the rate of inflation and is it up or down? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weiss paints a world of big ideas and massive change: \u201cCRISPR babies and killer drones and at-home robots and things we can\u2019t yet imagine.\u201d We want to know about that. But here on the ground, we live day to day and need a reliable, relatable source of information. Not, as she says, “Scoops… scoops of ideas. Scoops of explanation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounds like an awful lot like telling me what to think. Or maybe just \u2014 school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weiss made a lot of mistakes in her first four months on the job. She clearly did not listen to my advice back in November<\/a> to \u201cFind your allies on the inside\u2026 Take your time. Let people get to know you. Embrace them so they feel you will have their back. You will build support from within, not by imposing your will but by listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She did none of that, rushing to remake the evening broadcast on the fly with an inexperienced anchor; multi-tasking way too many big jobs; grabbing the spotlight with her town hall interviews while not stopping to listen and learn how to manage work flow on edits, which led to her debacle on the \u201c60 Minutes\u201d CECOT story. She’s been way over her skis, and everyone knows it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, she says, she\u2019s ready to listen. \u201cI want to take the time to get to know all of you and I want to hear your best ideas,\u201d she said in conclusion. It\u2019s late in the day to do that, but better late than never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bari\u2019s definitely right about one thing: the stakes are very high, as she said. And the hour is late. Let\u2019s hope she gets it more right than wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bari\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tBari Weiss Reveals \u201821st Century\u2019 Vision for CBS News With Tech and Lifestyle, Right-Leaning Voices<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read her speech twice looking for the substance beyond the vision, which will be the hard part <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":7942318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-full-width-with-ads","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":504342,"post_id":7302570}}]},"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"nb_breaking_email_type":"1dee58a6-43f6-4d1a-b280-850b428c6e36","nb_breaking_template":"pro-single-story.html","nb_breaking_from_name":"WrapPRO","nb_breaking_subject":"","nb_breaking_preview":"","nb_breaking_list":[],"nb_breaking_header_img":7562034,"nb_breaking_should_send":false,"nb_breaking_content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"WrapPRO<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Discover why entertainment executives and professionals rely on the WrapPRO platform daily for exclusive coverage, analysis, deeper reporting, and access to VIP events & screenings throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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