Bari Weiss took on the tribalist, liberal media. And she's winning. Big time. | Opinion

On paper, Bari Weiss, 41, should be someone beloved by the left. She checks a lot of boxes, after all. 

She’s a woman. She’s a lesbian. She's pro-choice. She’s politically centrist. She’s certainly not MAGA. And she’s a rock star in the media world. Weiss was recently named editor-in-chief of CBS News, and the publication she founded, The Free Press, was purchased by CBS’ parent company, Paramount, for a deal valued at $150 million, according to Axios. 

So why is her success causing a hysterical meltdown among progressives? 

Weiss isn’t liberal enough for their taste and doesn’t buy into the groupthink that dominates most newsrooms these days. 

Sounds very illiberal to me. It did to her, too. 

Bari Weiss shows the need for open debate

Just five short years ago, Weiss was working for the opinion section of The New York Times. When it became clear to her that her colleagues were not supportive of sharing a wide range of views with their audience – the purported reason she got hired – she quit. 

And she didn’t go quietly. She publicly posted her resignation letter, explaining her decision and the fatal flaws she had found in the newsroom – including bullying from coworkers who called her a “Nazi” (she’s Jewish) and “racist,” simply for daring to consider other points of view. 

“A new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else,” Weiss wrote in her letter to The Times' publisher.

Shortly thereafter, Weiss sought to create a publication that offered the kind of open debate that was so lacking at The Times. 

It worked. The Free Press now has 1.5 million subscribers, a talented staff and a tremendous amount of influence. That’s why it caught CBS executives’ attention. And they’re smart to tap such a talented freethinker. 

Hysteria among media progressives underscores why Weiss fled the NYT 

Not surprisingly, Weiss’ success has not been welcomed warmly by her mainstream media peers. 

An outpouring of horror flooded social media, following the announcement of her big promotion, from inside and outside CBS. Here’s a taste.

Jamelle Bouie, a columnist at The Times and Weiss’ former colleague, put it this way: “a heartwarming story of how being an unethical and talentless hack is no barrier to success when you are willing to endlessly flatter the wretched views of rich dip----s.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones of The Times’ 1619 Project fame had this to say: “In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation.” 

“Everyone at CBS News should quit in protest,” complained journalist Walker Bragman. “This is a travesty. Bari Weiss is a misinformation-peddling right-wing operative. She’s totally unqualified for this job.”

Staffers inside the CBS newsroom are reportedly feeling unsafe, too. According to The Independent, the staff are “literally freaking out” and harping that the company is “not a good place right now.”

Weiss created a refuge for journalists sick of progressive tribalism

It’s telling that the knee-jerk reaction from progressive journalists is to label Weiss as some kind of right-wing freak. Apparently, creating a platform that’s simply open to debating a wide range of ideas makes one a radical conservative. 

My guess is her critics probably haven’t spent much time reading The Free Press. (They should. They might learn something.) 

Weiss’ platform has become a magnet for some of the best writers and thinkers – and it’s a place where whistleblowers have been welcomed to share their truths.

Take Uri Berliner. The former NPR editor wrote a scathing piece about his employer in 2024, laying out in detail how it had become so focused on its leftist ideology that it had started telling listeners how to think.

“Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population,” Berliner wrote. 

Berliner now works for The Free Press. 

Essayist and novelist Kat Rosenfield, whom Weiss also hired, has been mistaken for a conservative – much like her boss – and for similar reasons: She thinks for herself. 

Rosenfield, who describes herself as a lifelong liberal, eloquently laid this out in a piece for National Review in 2022: “In our current era, politics no longer have anything to do with policy. Nor are they about principles, or values, or a vision for the future of the country. They’re about tribalism, and aesthetics, and vibes. They’re about lockstep solidarity with your chosen team, to which you must demonstrate your loyalty through fierce and unwavering conformity. And most of all, they’re about hating the right people.”

Kudos to Weiss for creating a space where truth is the goal and ideas are fairly debated and distilled. 

CBS is lucky to have her.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques