Bari Weiss appointed head of CBS news

[iris lilies]

This is good news I think. I am pumped.

And here, I was thinking about signing up for Bari’s Free Press after I drop Ground News. I don’t get much use out of Ground News and my subscription is up for renewal in a few days.

[Alan]

I understand there's a fair amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth in the CBS News Division about this. Personally, I see it as a means to bring trust and credibility back to a previously storied organization.

Below is Bari's introductory memo to the group. I've highlighted the most important parts.

Dear Colleagues:
I am thrilled and humbled to be writing to you as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Growing up, CBS was a deep family tradition. Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh. The opportunity to build on that legacy with you—and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it—is an extraordinary privilege.
Right now, I imagine you have some questions. I do, too.
My goal in the coming days and weeks is to get to know you. I want to hear from you about what’s working, what isn’t, and your thoughts on how we can make CBS News the most trusted news organization in America and the world. I’ll approach it the way any reporter would—with an open mind, a fresh notebook, and an urgent deadline.
What I can tell you on day one is that I stand for the same core journalistic values that have defined this profession since the beginning, and I will continue to champion them alongside you:


Journalism that reports on the world as it actually is.

Journalism that is fair, fearless, and factual.

Journalism that respects our audience enough to tell the truth plainly—wherever it leads.

Journalism that makes sense of a noisy, confusing world.

Journalism that explains things clearly, without pretension or jargon.

Journalism that holds both American political parties to equal scrutiny.

Journalism that embraces a wide spectrum of views and voices so that the audience can contend with the best arguments on all sides of a debate.

Journalism that rushes toward the most interesting and important stories, regardless of their unpopularity.

Journalism that uses all of the tools of the digital era.

Journalism that understands that the best way to serve America is to endeavor to present the public with the facts, first and foremost.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the days ahead and to listening and learning from you. I am profoundly honored to join you—and I can’t wait to get started.

[iris lilies]

Bari’s is one of the podcasts I listen to on Spotify. She’s a good egg.

I suppose this means she won’t have time to do a podcast. I understand CBS wanted The Free Press so that will Continue.

[Alan]

Bari’s is one of the podcasts I listen to on Spotify. She’s a good egg.

I suppose this means she won’t have time to do a podcast. I understand CBS wanted The Free Press so that will Continue.
I believe CBS bought The Free Press and Bari's promise to head up CBS News for somewhere around $150 Million. As I understand it, she will continue as the Editor in Chief of The Free Press but I have no idea if she'll continue the podcast.

[catherine]

I was a paid subscriber to The Free Press until I did my periodic subscription review and decided to step down to free subscriber status, but I have to admit, on a few occasions a headline has teased me,only to learn that the article was only available to paid subscribers. I think it's a pretty credible source for news.

[Rogar]

A new perspective in the spectrum of mainstream news reporting will be refreshing if it's all it's promised. I've look forward to it.

What little I've read about the changes, there was an implication that what is being called "legacy" media has not represented the news accurately or fairly? I've always tried to follow mainstream news with a bit of skepticism, but I've not found it too far off base when you consider the WSJ, NPR, and the NYT as pretty mainstream legacy. I suppose we tend to gravitate to our beliefs. It actually seems like mainstream news has pulled back from the left a little now that the long arm of Trump's aggressive lawsuits and big money influences have gained a foothold. Even Krugman bailed on the NYT for them becoming to restrictive.

[iris lilies]

The Babylon Bee ( sarcasm media) posted several of the horrifying things Bari will be doing at CBS. I like these top three but CBS employees consider themselves under seige.



Effective immediately, each journalist gets three libels and you're out: This is unreasonably strict.
Going forward, reporters are required to include at least one true fact in all stories: This could slow down news production drastically.
Feelings no longer count as a valid source: Sources have to be actual living people.


all kidding aside, she will have an uphill battle and entrenched underlings could sink her.

[iris lilies]

I was a paid subscriber to The Free Press until I did my periodic subscription review and decided to step down to free subscriber status, but I have to admit, on a few occasions a headline has teased me,only to learn that the article was only available to paid subscribers. I think it's a pretty credible source for news.

I did end up signing up for a year’s subscription.

I read lots of Free Press headlines and opening paragraphs, and occasionally full articles thru paywall eraser sites, but I decided to bite the bullet and try the full range of services.

I liked the author line up today on the 2nd anniversary of Hamas atrocities. I like Douglas Murray and Colin Wright.

[Alan]

The Free Press is dropping its paywall this week. I think I'll be spending some time there checking out what CBS can become.

[iris lilies]

Megyn Kelly talked briefly about Bari Weiss heading up CBS news. She’s not optimistic that Bari will be able to affect that operation. She said exactly what I am feeling about it even though I don’t have the insider view into network news that Megyn has, and that is that it’s a huge intractable beast that cannot be changed from top down Management.

Megyn likened CBS News to a giant freighter on the ocean, heading towards icebergs, and they install Bari at the wheel as though she can actually steer it away from the big threats.

I think a better fit for Bari would’ve been NPR news division. That is small enough that I can see her making some real changes there while being influential enough to get her attention and interest.

The more I think about it, more I think CBS and Bari Weiss are a mismatch and I wonder if CBS new ownership has thrown Bari into this mess as a temporary chaos agent where she will not last long. Ya gotta start the chaos if you are really going to shake up deeply entrenched employees and culture.

[LDAHL]

Megyn Kelly talked briefly about Bari Weiss heading up CBS news. She’s not optimistic that Bari will be able to affect that operation. She said exactly what I am feeling about it even though I don’t have the insider view into network news that Megyn has, and that is that it’s a huge intractable beast that cannot be changed from top down Management.

Megyn likened CBS News to a giant freighter on the ocean, heading towards icebergs, and they install Bari at the wheel as though she can actually steer it away from the big threats.

I think a better fit for Bari would’ve been NPR news division. That is small enough that I influentialI can see her making some real changes there while being influential enough to get her attention and interest.

The more I think about it, more I think it’s a mismatch and I wonder if CBS new ownership has thrown Bari into this mess as a temporary chaos agent where she will not last long. Ya gotta start the chaos if you are really going to shake up deeply entrenched employees and culture.

I think you may be right. This is the organization that mobilized its “race and culture unit” against a reporter who had the temerity to question Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is the organization that edited a Kamala Harris interview to make her appear coherent. There’s a lot of ideological inertia there to overcome.

[iris lilies]

I think you may be right. This is the organization that mobilized its “race and culture unit” against a reporter who had the temerity to question Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is the organization that edited a Kamala Harris interview to make her appear coherent. There’s a lot of ideological inertia there to overcome.

I remember Dan Rather’s Memogate fiasco where he claimed to have documents proving GW Bush’s dishonesty with military service. I distinctly remember that incident because that was the first time it sunk in for me the power of the Internet, where thousands of little busy bees do their “investigative reporting.” And while 99% of it is noise and misinformation, the 1% percent that’s true is put out there. I remember going down the rabbit hole of experts on old typewriters who argued that memo could not be what it was represented to be because typewriters didn’t produce those characters in the year it was claimed to originate.

Someone besides Dan Rather took the fall for that though. As Brightstar Cruise Line from
Television’s Succession would say, “NRPI” No Real People Involved to be hurt,just flunkies.

As for the more recent editing of Kamila’s interview, I followed Megyn Kelly’s analysis of it and did not come to the same agreement she came to. necessarily. I am neutral on it and think the opposition to CBS didn’t prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt,