Bari Weiss’s reign at CBS News continues to generate entertainment, if nothing else. Perhaps taking a leaf from Elon Musk, Weiss emailed CBS staff, asking for their input and advice:
“I hope you are as excited as I am about the prospect of elevating CBS News to its rightful place as No. 1: the most trusted and most consumed news source in the nation,” Weiss wrote. “So, I’m interested in any particular ideas you have to achieve this goal.”
Weiss asked staffers for a memo by Tuesday to “understand how you spend your working hours — and, ideally, what you’ve made (or are making) that you’re most proud of. I’m also interested in hearing your views on what’s working; what’s broken or substandard; and how we can be better. Please be blunt — it will help me greatly.” She said that she would use the memos as a “discussion guide” in individual meetings in the coming weeks.
It would be hard to be much milder, or more appropriate for a new boss, than that. But some employees took offense at the idea that they should explain what, exactly, they do. And their union swung into action, recommending that no one respond to Weiss:
Wow. I think we may be starting to understand why CBS has become the least trusted name in news. I don’t know whether Weiss took the job as editor in chief with the intention of cleaning house, but if that wasn’t her intent before, it certainly should be now.
To top it off, the king of self-delusion, Dan Rather–yes, he is still alive–worries that a rank amateur like Bari Weiss might tarnish the golden image of CBS News. His perspective is confused:
What Weiss lacks in journalistic bonafides, she makes up for in influence. Weiss has the ear of the billionaire class. “The Free Press” is reportedly a daily must-read for the uber-wealthy who want to know what’s happening in American politics.
Rather has been out of circulation for a while, so he may not understand that his party–the Democrats, the Left–are the party of the rich, and most billionaires are on his side. Or would be, if they knew he is still around.
Rather is openly offended by the idea that under Weiss, CBS News might not be a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party:
While one must keep an open mind, it is hard to do so when such a statement portends a push for “bothsidesism” and arguments reliant on false equivalences. There can be no equivalences drawn between the two political extremes in this country, especially when one extreme is led by a man who rarely speaks without lying. But Weiss’s modus operandi is giving the fictitious illusion of fair and balanced coverage through such mechanisms.
Rather has never pretended to be either fair or balanced. Or accurate, or truthful. More:
The American people will pay the price for this move, as will the journalists of CBS News who can no longer credibly serve as watchdogs because the ones they are meant to hold to account are signing their paychecks and hobnobbing with the president.
“The ones they are meant to hold to account are signing their paychecks…” Who are the ones they are meant to hold to account? Apparently not Paramount Global, the successor to Viacom, which used to own CBS. I guess he means Skydance Media, which now owns CBS. I think Rather means that CBS News is supposed to be friendly to companies that are associated with the Democratic Party, and should “hold to account” companies that he sees as associated with the Republican Party–those whose executives might “hobnob with the president.” That is, President Trump. Not, of course, President Obama or President Biden–there, hobnobbing is a sign of virtue. Rather sees CBS News as a permanent arm of the Democratic Party, and is appalled that this longstanding, cozy relationship might end.
Of course, the idea of Dan Rather fretting over the integrity of CBS News is laughable on its face. Rather presided over the most notorious fraud in the history of broadcasting, the 60 Minutes Bush National Guard hoax. Rather presented, on air, obviously fake documents that were created by a Democratic Party operative in Texas, and that made accusations against George W. Bush, then running for re-election, that were patently false. CBS News peddled these lies in coordination with the John Kerry presidential campaign, and went so far as to move up their broadcast of Rather’s lies so as to help Kerry’s floundering campaign.
For ten or twelve days after the documents’ fraudulent nature had become obvious to everyone, Rather swore, on air, that he knew they were genuine. This was while, behind the scenes, CBS News was scrambling frantically, but unsuccessfully, to find some evidence that the supposed documents were not a complete fraud. For his lies, Rather was fired, and his ignominious career in broadcast journalism came to a humiliating end.
I have no idea what the future holds for Bari Weiss at CBS News, but I will say this with confidence: CBS News will not become more biased or more inaccurate, and its ratings will not decline.
