Tell CBS not to let Bari Weiss censor debate!

According to Vanity Fair and Deadline, CBS News has handed extraordinary influence to Bari Weiss, despite her lack of experience running a broadcast newsroom. Since her arrival, CBS has undergone sweeping layoffs and show cancellations that multiple outlets — including The Independent and The Daily Beast — report disproportionately impacted women and people of color. Former staffers told The Daily Beast that the layoffs amounted to a newsroom “bloodbath,” leaving behind a far narrower and less diverse editorial culture.

This upheaval is unfolding as CBS comes under new conservative, MAGA-aligned ownership. Truthout has documented how critical climate reporting teams were gutted under the new management. At the same time, Deadline and The Daily Beast have reported on the abrupt axing of entire programs and the growing ideological pressure inside CBS News.

Perhaps most disturbing, The Independent and The Guardian report that a planned 60 Minutes segment examining CECOT — El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison — was canceled under Weiss’s influence. Pulling an investigation into mass incarceration and human rights abuses raises serious questions about censorship, conflicts of interest, and whose political sensitivities CBS is now prioritizing.

Across outlet after outlet, the pattern is the same: intolerance for internal debate, the removal of journalists who challenge power, and editorial decisions that align disturbingly well with the priorities of conservative ownership.

This isn’t just about Bari Weiss. It’s about whether one of the most powerful news organizations in the country will silence dissent, erase diverse voices, and narrow public debate — or recommit to independent journalism that holds power to account.

Thanks,
Mary