Paramount in talks to buy The Free Press and offer Bari Weiss a senior editorial position at CBS News
According to Puck News, the potential purchase price for The Free Press could be between $100 million and $200 million. Weiss would also be in line for a senior editorial position at CBS News as part of a deal that would integrate her media outlet into the new Paramount.
Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press
Puck News reported Wednesday that Paramount CEO David Ellison, is set to shell out a multibillion-dollar sum for the purchase of The Free Press, the online media outlet owned by Bari Weiss.
According to Puck, the journalist would also be in line for a senior editorial position at CBS News as part of a deal that would integrate her medium into the new Paramount.
Weiss, a former editor at The New York Times, left the paper in 2020 after being the victim of ideological bullying by her progressive colleagues. She founded The Free Press, an online publication that challenges the politics of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender ideology and mainstream media narratives against Israel.
According to Puck News, Weiss's pro-Israel, anti-woke and anti-establishment stance is inevitably going to inspire reactions from various corners of the newsroom, and could "dramatically change the editorial posture and reputation" of CBS News.
A multimillion-dollar sum for The Free Press
For the moment, Paramount has declined to comment, but Puck News reporter Dylan Byers has estimated that the potential purchase price for The Free Press could be between $100-$200 million.
"David’s offer for The Free Press is expected to be well above the site’s most recent $100 million valuation, but well below the $200 million figure that was recently floated in the Financial Times," the journalist said.
According to Byers, some sources claim that the negotiations are in their final phase.
A bid to modernize CBS News
The deal follows last month's merger between David Ellison's Skydance Media and Paramount Global, which placed CBS and CBS News firmly under Ellison's stewardship.
According to The New York Post, the timing is not coincidental. As part of the Skydance-Paramount merger, Ellison has been under pressure to prove he can modernize CBS News and reverse years of declining viewership.
The merger of the two companies was approved after Paramount agreed to settle a suit filed by President Trump against CBS News over a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris that was deceptively edited.
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