MAGA-aligned CBS News boss Bari Weiss has gone on a charm offensive, but her staff isn't buying it, per reports.
According to reporting by the New York Post, Weiss has changed her approach to leading CBS News in the wake of firing veteran and star correspondents from its flagship program, 60 Minutes. Recent reports have also shown that other CBS News programs are sinking to record-low ratings.
Sources told The NY Post that Weiss is "notably friendlier" and "more hands-on" with CBS News staff. In recent weeks, Weiss has started editorial meetings by "celebrating" wins and spotlighting journalists who have done a good job, at times reading their names aloud from her notebook, the Post reported.
She was previously "aloof in the newsroom," and preferred "descending to the rank and file mostly to pick apart the news division's work rather than to praise it," sources told The Post.
"She made zero effort before, but since the '60' explosion, she's been very nice to people," a source said to the Post, referring to the loss of correspondents like Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Cecilia Vega.
"I think Bari has been given management training and told to develop relationships with existing staff and try to retain them," another source told the Post, adding that Weiss previously kept staff "at arm's length" and "did not schmooze with the talent."
According to the Post, sources said that Weiss has a new "open-door" policy after she reportedly "barricaded" herself away from staff inside her sixth-floor suite at the CBS Broadcast Center.
Meanwhile, other insiders point out her friendlier attitude appeared "as speculation about her own career prospects has lately taken a turn," according to the Post. CBS News parent company Paramount Skydance is trying to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN, and Weiss is "cautious" about positioning herself to run CNN, a source told the Post.
