Paramount Skydance acquires The Free Press, appoints Bari Weiss as CBS News Editor-in-Chief

New Delhi:Paramo unt Skydance has announced the acquisition of The Free Press, the digital news and commentary platform co-founded by journalist Bari Weiss, who will also take charge as editor-in-chief of CBS News, as per the news report.

Founded in 2021 by Weiss, along with her wife Nellie Bowles and sister Suzy Weiss, The Free Press built a substantial following by positioning itself as a counterpoint to mainstream news narratives and by publishing commentary often critical of progressive cultural trends.

The deal marks one of the major decisions by David Ellison since acquiring Paramount in an $8 billion merger earlier this year. As part of its federal merger commitments, the company had pledged to reflect a diversity of ideological perspectives and introduce an ombudsman to CBS News, which is approaching its centenary.

Paramount Skydance stated that the move will help bring Weiss’s editorial leadership to a broader audience, integrating The Free Press’s independent journalism ethos into CBS News operations.

The Free Press reportedly has around 1.5 million subscribers on Substack, including approximately 170,000 paying readers, generating an estimated $15 million in annual revenue.

Before founding The Free Press, Weiss had resigned from The New York Times in 2020, citing concerns over what she described as an increasingly restrictive editorial environment. The publication later gained widespread attention after running a high-profile essay by NPR editor Uri Berliner in 2024, which criticised internal newsroom culture and led to his resignation.

Regular contributors to The Free Press include economist Tyler Cowen, historian Niall Ferguson, and political commentator Matthew Continetti.