Anderson Cooper has said behind the scenes that he has no interest in working with Bari Weiss if she gains oversight of. The objection lands as employees wait for the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger to go through in the next few weeks.
Bari Weiss at CBS News
David Ellison installed Weiss as head of CBS News, even though she has no television news experience. Scott Pelley publicly objected to the direction of CBS News under Weiss, and that reaction now hangs over because she could end up with some level of oversight there too.
Cooper is not speaking as an outsider. He briefly worked with Weiss at 60 Minutes before leaving in May after 20 years as a correspondent, so this is a judgment formed inside the same newsroom culture that now fears a change in management. A spokesperson for Cooper declined to comment to.
Ellison’s editorial pledge
David Ellison has tried to calm the backlash with a recent interview with CNBC, saying, “ is an incredible brand with an incredible team, and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward.” He also said, “Editorial independence will absolutely be maintained. It is maintained at CBS, it will be maintained at.”
That promise and Cooper’s reported refusal point in opposite directions. Ellison is signaling continuity; Cooper’s stance suggests the editorial chain above could still trigger resistance from one of the network’s best-known anchors if Weiss ends up with real authority over newsroom decisions.
Next few weeks
The merger expected in the next few weeks is the step that will determine whether Weiss gets any oversight role at at all. For employees, the practical question is not whether the ownership structure changes, but who gets to shape the newsroom after it does.
