The fear exuding from the mainstream media's underbelly right now is palpable. I see it in the reaction to Bari Weiss' new role as editor-in-chief of CBS News after Paramount acquired The Free Press, the outlet she founded after resigning from The New York Times in 2020.
Though a well-known former journalist at The New York Times, Weiss's new role at CBS hasn't exactly been celebrated. Vanity Fair reported that on her first day, "you could cut the tension with a knife."
On his show "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver slammed the decision. "I wouldn't want anyone who led a pure opinion outlet, not even one that I happened to agree with, to suddenly be running CBS News," Oliver said. "But it is especially alarming to have someone doing it who has spent years putting out work that, in my opinion, is at best irresponsible and at worst deeply misleading."
"She's been extremely outspoken about her views," said former CBS executive Paul Friedman. "We can only hope she means what she's said about fair journalism."
I don't know about you, but these cynical comments seem driven by fear. What are people afraid of, exactly? The Free Press has provided investigative journalism about contentious issues, challenging the status quo about controversial things like COVID-19 lockdowns, DEI programs, and transgender issues, to name a few. The outlet and Weiss have been openly skeptical of legacy media outlets. It's easy to see why.
The media is integral to how the American people consume politics and news. As campaigns for midterms are already underway, I wonder how much the mainstream news can adjust to a changing landscape of American voters. Especially when, as Gallup reported Oct. 2, trust in media is at an all-time low. Among Republicans, it's even worse: "Republicans' confidence in mass media to report news 'fully, accurately and fairly' now at 8%," Gallup says.
I'm not surprised.
A 2022 survey by Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications and an ABC News/Washington Post national poll showed what most people already feel in their gut: over 36% of journalists identify as Democrats, 52% identify as Independents, and just 3.4% identify as Republicans. Not all news or journalists are biased, but some reporters (not commentators) present news that reinforces a leftist ideology or neglects to report on news that could provide an alternative angle or a positive report of a conservative politician or view.
On the one hand, Americans deserve fair, accurate news; a change seems necessary. At the same time, it might take more than one appointment of a fair-minded journalist into the ranks to make a ripple.
The mainstream media's fear of Weiss is telling. She aimed to disrupt the status quo at The Free Press and now wants to do the same thing at a legacy outlet. People don't seem to like it, even though it's necessary.
Weiss has already created waves at CBS News, where she said she plans to hold "both American political parties to equal scrutiny." Weiss sent a memo to staff asking them to describe their roles, what's working, and what's not. Immediately, the Writers Guild of America East, representing some of CBS's writers, got involved and told the writers, via an internal memo, that they would not be disciplined if they failed to report back to Weiss what they did at work all day.
If Weiss is already facing resistance for asking important questions about staff members' workload and their opinions, she could face an uphill climb in making a change. But it also underscores the need for change.
Weiss knows this: She resigned from The New York Times in 2020 for "unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge," among other problems. Now, several years later, she returns to a mainstream outlet after finding success creating an outlet that does exactly what she felt The New York Times wouldn't let her do.
It sounds like she hopes she can do the same thing with CBS News, but commentators are already cynical. "Bari Weiss aims to create a fair, factual, CBS culture. Good luck with that," Bernard Goldberg wrote at The Hill Oct. 17.
With midterms around the corner, it would be a refreshing change of pace to see politics, policy, and cultural issues reported by large outlets like CBS News with fairness and objectivity. Challenging leftist bias would be an added bonus. However, if the first few days of Weiss's new position at CBS News are any sign of the future, change might be harder than she thinks to accomplish. But that doesn't make it any less necessary.
