In a stunning reversal, CBS News has managed to win back the wrath of former President Donald Trump after just $16 million in new ownership and drastic staff cuts. The network's attempt to appease Trump comes at a time when its credibility is already under strain.
Trump had previously filed a frivolous lawsuit against CBS News over the editing of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, which he claimed was "election interference" that caused him mental anguish. However, after settling the case for $16 million and agreeing to release full transcripts of future presidential interviews, CBS News has managed to coax Trump back onto its flagship program, 60 Minutes.
The network's new leader, Bari Weiss, seems determined to align herself with the far-right, anti-woke agenda that has made her a darling of conservative circles. Weiss's appointment has been met with skepticism by many, who see her as an attempt to rebrand mainstream institutions as "anti-woke" at the expense of diversity and inclusion.
Under Weiss's guidance, CBS News has recently featured Trump allies such as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on 60 Minutes, sparking accusations that the network is now serving as a platform for conservative propaganda. The network has also reportedly poached talent from other outlets to shore up its conservative credentials.
However, Weiss's efforts seem to be falling flat with some of her target audience. Even Trump himself appeared to poke fun at his own return to 60 Minutes, joking that "I don't wanna embarrass you" after reminding Norah O'Donnell that he had been paid a lot of money for the interview.
Weiss's influence at CBS News is part of a larger media shift that seeks to silence progressive and Black perspectives in favor of conservative approval. Critics say that this strategy will only serve to erode trust in the news media, which is already struggling to regain credibility after years of scandals and controversies.
As one journalist noted, "The only thing I could do was professionally blow myself up to create a blast radius around '60 Minutes' to get people's attention that this was happening." That blast radius has landed squarely on the lap of Bari Weiss, who appears to be doing her best to rewrite the script for 60 Minutes in favor of Trump and his ilk. But will it be enough?
Trump had previously filed a frivolous lawsuit against CBS News over the editing of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, which he claimed was "election interference" that caused him mental anguish. However, after settling the case for $16 million and agreeing to release full transcripts of future presidential interviews, CBS News has managed to coax Trump back onto its flagship program, 60 Minutes.
The network's new leader, Bari Weiss, seems determined to align herself with the far-right, anti-woke agenda that has made her a darling of conservative circles. Weiss's appointment has been met with skepticism by many, who see her as an attempt to rebrand mainstream institutions as "anti-woke" at the expense of diversity and inclusion.
Under Weiss's guidance, CBS News has recently featured Trump allies such as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on 60 Minutes, sparking accusations that the network is now serving as a platform for conservative propaganda. The network has also reportedly poached talent from other outlets to shore up its conservative credentials.
However, Weiss's efforts seem to be falling flat with some of her target audience. Even Trump himself appeared to poke fun at his own return to 60 Minutes, joking that "I don't wanna embarrass you" after reminding Norah O'Donnell that he had been paid a lot of money for the interview.
Weiss's influence at CBS News is part of a larger media shift that seeks to silence progressive and Black perspectives in favor of conservative approval. Critics say that this strategy will only serve to erode trust in the news media, which is already struggling to regain credibility after years of scandals and controversies.
As one journalist noted, "The only thing I could do was professionally blow myself up to create a blast radius around '60 Minutes' to get people's attention that this was happening." That blast radius has landed squarely on the lap of Bari Weiss, who appears to be doing her best to rewrite the script for 60 Minutes in favor of Trump and his ilk. But will it be enough?
... think this is just a PR stunt to save their ratings, not actually about appeasing Trump 
. They're trying to create a fake 'balance' that's just a euphemism for watering down progressive voices and pushing conservative propaganda 
. News at 11, right? But seriously, what's next? Are they gonna start hiring Alex Jones as an expert? 
Bari Weiss is a total wild card and I'm not convinced she's not just trying to boost her own career 
. And let's be real, $16 million is chump change for Trump - he'll just use it to fund some new far-right project 
.
they're trying to win back Trump's trust after a huge settlement, but I think it's just a publicity stunt at this point 
Weiss's attempt to align with the far-right is suspicious, and featuring Trump allies on 60 Minutes seems like a recipe for disaster 
. It's like they're trying to fill their ratings tank by catering to conservative views instead of providing real journalism 
... I don't know if Weiss can pull off this whole "anti-woke" agenda thing without losing her credibility entirely 
[link to article on CBS News's ownership change]
and just trust them again. newsflash: it's not gonna work that way. bari weiss is basically a corporate sellout and i'm so over her attempts to rebrand cbs as some kinda conservative think tank 
and honestly, the fact that trump is even back on 60 minutes is just a joke 
like, dude you're still a former president who lost an election in a landslide. get over yourself.
the fact that CBS News just spent $16 mil to get back on trump's good side is wild lol but honestly, i'm not sure if they're gonna succeed in rebranding themselves as super conservative 
anyway, kudos to them for trying i guess? 
but seriously, what's next? will they start pushing trump's agenda on all of their shows? 
.
. Can't we get back to fact-based reporting and real analysis instead of just trying to appease the far-right?
. like, why would anyone want to give trump a platform at this point? he's already proven himself to be completely unreliable and untrustworthy. i think bari weiss needs to rethink her strategy because right now it just feels like she's trying to appeal to the wrong crowd 
- you know, upgrade the graphics, cut out all the "bad" stuff, and hope nobody notices the glitchy performance 
. Bari Weiss's thing is kinda like that old video of Trump doing a funny dance at a rally 
, it might get some laughs now, but will it last? I mean, who wants to watch a program that's more conservative than a Kardashian wedding guest 
? Not me, that's for sure. And honestly, I'm kinda worried about what this means for the rest of us - if they're gonna start churning out "balanced" content just to appease Trump and his friends, does that mean we'll have to start paying attention to what they say on purpose... like a weird form of Pavlov's dogs? 
.
. And let's be real, Trump's ego is already huge, now he gets to dictate the narrative on 60 Minutes 
. Now, it just feels like they're trying to pander to the lowest common denominator and I'm not sure how much more of this I can take 
. Can't they just find a way to make quality journalism work without sacrificing their values?