"Newsroom culture clash" at CBS News

[AbrahamJSimpson]

You are assuming that people will be "given" jobs.

Yet again, you try to tell me what I assume. And yet again, you are incorrect about what I assume.

Some people make them happen by inserting themselves into the process and demonstrating a rapid and successful learning curve.

Name one who became the successful head of a network news operation in the modern era with no experience.

As an example, A person I hired as my secretary years ago became the general manager of the station some years after I had moved on... because she always tried to ask and learn about everything that went on.

She moved up and gained experience without assuming to know everything when, in fact, she did not?

She was amazingly intelligent and assertive, and learned on her own and of her own initiative.

Great. What does that have to do with the abject failure on display at CBS?

Your post assumes that someone has to have a mentor or be part of a program to succeed. There are many who have the needed skills and who make a place for themselves.

See above. Yet again, your bogus straw man about things never stated are wrong.

I've never found that someone, for example, could be taught to be a program director.
The ones that have been successful had the talent and learned the necessary trade skills on their own and created their own set of rules.

Learned on their own. Uh huh. With no experience and no mentors.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

Learned on their own. Uh huh. With no experience and no mentors.

Don't you know? All of the most successful people did it entirely on their own! Bill Gates was just this poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks who made it big! Elon Musk personally engineers the Space X rocket motors! Who is John Galt?

Okay, that was maybe a bit sarcastic, but yeah...everyone had a leg-up at some point. Back in the late 90s, one of the hosts of the morning show I was producing said something nice about Dick Clark in an interview with one of the trades. Not long after, we got a "thank you" note that was clearly written by the man himself. Some time later I was going through the voicemails, and a message began with "hey guys, it's Dick Clark." He was looking to do a phoner for the American Music Awards, and (after staring at the phone and replaying the voicemail a few times) we called the number...figuring it would be a flunky on the other end.

Nope. It rang twice and the voice on the other end said "Hi, it's Dick!" Later that year, we found out that he was going to be in town for an event. We did talk to one of his people, who assured us that he didn't have time to do our show. He was booked from 6am to 10pm. Then he called back himself and told us he'd make room, and showed up a little after 5am. He did have his people around, but they were unobtrusive and we got away with every silly bit or goof we could. Near the end of our time, the host asked "why are you even doing this? We're just a morning show in Phoenix, and you're Dick Clark!"

He said that when he was starting out in the business, he reached out to his idol, Steve Allen (creator of The Tonight Show). Steve didn't blow him off, but instead they struck up a correspondence where he gave Dick advice and support, and showing up to do a show with some enthusiastic kids was his way of paying it forward.

 

[davideduardo]

Yet again, you try to tell me what I assume. And yet again, you are incorrect about what I assume.

From your statements, It is obvious that you believe most success comes from following the societal norms of finishing high school, going to college and working one's way up from there. I believe there is ample opportunity elsewhere, but it takes initiative and drive.

Name one who became the successful head of a network news operation in the modern era with no experience.

The director of the Radio 10 system in Argentina. He was an administrator for other businesses of the first owner, and was well trusted. The owner gave him guidance and the station became #1 with over 40% of the AM audience in Buenos Aires where there were about 20 news and talk stations on AM... two of them run by hundred-year-old newspapers.

She moved up and gained experience without assuming to know everything when, in fact, she did not?

She picked up the style I used to go from last to first in ratings and billings and improved on it. She did that in less than 3 years.

Great. What does that have to do with the abject failure on display at CBS?

CBS's biggest opportunity is to move on from failure by doing whatever the other networks do not do.

See above. Yet again, your bogus straw man about things never stated are wrong.

I have no idea what that means. Maybe I did not go to college enough.

Learned on their own. Uh huh. With no experience and no mentors.

The PDs I know that were most successful created their own "world" and were not taught to be PDs.

I was PD of my first owned station. My experience was as a bad jock and board op at a station with no revenue in Cleveland. I created what I envisioned would work.... in a country I had been in for just a few months, and was #1 immediately and profitable in 6 months. I know or have known a bunch of very successful PDs who, maybe, learned what not to do at other stations as a DJ or other employee but became PDs very much on their own.

You will also find that some of the great engineers of the 60's and 70's learned electronics from Popular Electronics and the like and by building stuff with parts from Olsen and Burstein & Applebee.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

You will also find that some of the great engineers of the 60's and 70's learned electronics from Popular Electronics and the like and by building stuff with parts from Olsen and Burstein & Applebee.

Okay, sure. Good for them. I do find it odd that you're going back to the 60s and 70s to prove your point that CBS News (and 60 Minutes in particular) is hopelessly outdated and is failing. You're kind of saying "well back in my day we did it this way" and that because you were successful back before the internet came around that you're uniquely qualified to tell people what new media should be? I'm struggling to find the relevance of a group of AM radio stations in Argentina has to the current situation with regards to media in today's world. And while Bari Weiss managed to finagle a lucrative sale of her "Free Press" platform, it doesn't mean she's qualified to be the Editor in Chief of the network news division she's taken over. Last time I checked, the ratings for her pet projects (Byron Allen and the revamped evening news) are tanking.

Just because someone has a "new" idea doesn't mean it's automatically a good one. Maybe Weiss will course correct and become the next media mogul, but so far, I'm not seeing it. As I've learned, the model of "move fast and break things" sounds cool on paper, but unless you have something that will replace the thing you just broke, it won't work out so well. To date, Weiss has been breaking things at a furious pace, but what's the replacement? Joe Rogan?

 

[Kent]

From your statements, It is obvious that you believe most success comes from following the societal norms of finishing high school, going to college and working one's way up from there.

The uber rich wouldn’t be paying the elite colleges to admit their kids if most success didn’t come that way. There may be opportunities other ways, but not many homeless people have Ivy League degrees.

Here's a personal example. My former sister-in-law has an aunt who married into a family that owned a trade school. When my former cousin-in-law graduated high school, did she attend the family business? Not on your life! She went to a four year university out of state.

 

[Steel Nerves]

But to assert it was somehow primarily, or even significantly related to his McCarthy reporting, reporting which, rightfully, brought widespread praise to CBS, is just sloppy and inaccurate.

I never said it had anything to do with McCarthy. If anything, it was probably Murrow's speech to the RTNDA that made Paley decide Murrow was no longer worth the aggravation.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

From your statements, It is obvious that you believe most success comes from following the societal norms of finishing high school, going to college and working one's way up from there.

Yet again, you do not know what i believe and set up false arguments. There is a world of difference between “there is only one path” and “wildly unqualified people shouldn’t be placed into positions far above their capabilities.”’

I believe there is ample opportunity elsewhere, but it takes initiative and drive.

Initiative and drive are not somehow an alternative to learning and progressing.

The director of the Radio 10 system in Argentina.

Oh good lord, ok, here we go.

He was an administrator for other businesses of the first owner, and was well trusted. The owner gave him guidance and the station became #1 with over 40% of the AM audience in Buenos Aires where there were about 20 news and talk stations on AM... two of them run by hundred-year-old newspapers.

So….he was paying attention to someone who knew the business at hand.

She picked up the style I used to go from last to first in ratings and billings and improved on it. She did that in less than 3 years.

Yay?

CBS's biggest opportunity is to move on from failure by doing whatever the other networks do not do.

This is patently absurd. The other networks don’t run a test pattern. They don’t have a kindergartner read the news. Maybe CBS should try those. I mean, it’s not what the other guys do, so it must be the right path.

As it is, they’ve chosen the path of bootlicking toadyism…and that is their biggest opportunity to crash and burn, which they are.

The PDs I know that were most successful created their own "world" and were not taught to be PDs.

But they were taught other skill sets.

I was PD of my first owned station.

We know. One person’s story is a charming anecdote, not universally applicable.

My experience was as a bad jock and board op at a station with no revenue in Cleveland. I created what I envisioned would work.... in a country I had been in for just a few months, and was #1 immediately and profitable in 6 months. I know or have known a bunch of very successful PDs who, maybe, learned what not to do at other stations as a DJ or other employee but became PDs very much on their own.

It isn’t “on your own.” People provide mentorship. They give advice. They teach, formally and informally. It’s a two way street.

You will also find that some of the great engineers of the 60's and 70's learned electronics from Popular Electronics and the like and by building stuff with parts from Olsen and Burstein & Applebee.

I’m sure I would. But it’s 2026 now, so maybe something a bit more relevant would be applicable.

 

[umfan]

I never said it had anything to do with McCarthy. If anything, it was probably Murrow's speech to the RTNDA that made Paley decide Murrow was no longer worth the aggravation.

I wasn't referring to you in that response.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Bari is a journalist, but she was promoted way beyond her level of competence. Not unusual, but in this case, it's tragic.

She's usually described as an "opinion journalist", which I think is a generous description, to say the least. A more accurate description would be an "opinion writer" or "opinion publisher". From what I can see of her biography, she's never done any actual reporting, nor was her academic focus in journalism. Consequently, I think it's likely that she views her role as being an advocate for her point of view through the outlets she supervises rather than as someone superintending reporting that's as objective as people are capable of doing. In other words, she has no experience in actual reporting. To put someone like that in an organization that's proud of its journalistic history was bound to create explosions and can't be viewed by anyone sentient as other than a deliberate act of provocation.

Variety is reporting that Paramount is looking for a way to shore her up:

Paramount Has Been in Search for Business Executive to Help Bari Weiss at CBS News

Paramount Seeks Business Executive to Help Bari Weiss at CBS News

variety.com

Quote:
"Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations. Some of her editorial moves have ripples that affect areas such as viewership, publicity and advertising, and while people who know her praise her intelligence, they acknowledge her dearth of experience in some of those areas has hurt her ability to move forward and to win over staff."
(end quote)

There are other concerns, related directly to the business. Another Variety article:

Is Bari Weiss Breaking the News? Her Tumultuous ‘60 Minutes’ Overhaul Triggers New Fears at CBS

Is Bari Weiss Breaking the News? Her Tumultuous ‘60 Minutes’ Overhaul Triggers New Fears at CBS

variety.com

Quote:
"The 2026 midterm elections typically bring bigger audiences and the advertising dollars that follow them to news programs. Weiss presides over a group of stalwart programs – “60 Minutes,” “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “CBS Mornings,” “48 Hours” and “Face The Nation — that generated $362 million in 2025, according to Guideline, a tracker of ad spending. And despite ongoing erosion of ad support for broadcast-news programs that has been in place since the 2020 election, says Sean Wright, the company’s chief insights and analytics officer, “CBS has held steady, having stayed at 22% share of dollars for the last 5 years. Halfway through this year, CBS is still at 22% of the dollar share.”

Continuing quote:
"But if CBS News is perceived as being partisan or lacking credibility, then marketers could move their support elsewhere. In the past, says one media buyer, who helps advertisers figure out where to place commercials, broadcast-TV news has been seen as less polarizing than what was on rivals from cable. “Folks were staying more with the broadcast news because they felt that was safer,” this buyer says. “Well, I don’t think it’s safer any longer.” (end quote)

 

[TheBigA]

She's usually described as an "opinion journalist",

Which is what I though conservatives wanted to eliminate from news coverage. Aren't they the ones saying they want "balanced coverage?" Isn't that what was in the deal Ellison signed with Carr? Here's what they promised last year:

New Paramount Execs Address CBS News Independence; Ombudsman Will Be “A Transparency Vehicle, Not An Oversight Vehicle”

A new ombudsman Will Be "a transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle," Jeff Shell said

deadline.com

"I think we want to be fact based and truth based in the news organization. That’s what we’re about. That’s the legacy of CBS. I mean, Edward R. Murrow founded this place, so I don’t think so.”

Since then, they put a biased opinion journalist in charge of the news division. How does that solve the bias problem?

Where was this transparency ombudsman when Bari was telling Pelley to make the protestors look more violent?

 

[ted chittenden]

Which is what I though conservatives wanted to eliminate from news coverage. Aren't they the ones saying they want "balanced coverage?" Isn't that what was in the deal Ellison signed with Carr? Here's what they promised last year:

New Paramount Execs Address CBS News Independence; Ombudsman Will Be “A Transparency Vehicle, Not An Oversight Vehicle”

A new ombudsman Will Be "a transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle," Jeff Shell said

deadline.com

Since then, they put a biased opinion journalist in charge of the news division. How does that solve the bias problem?

Where was this transparency ombudsman when Bari was telling Pelley to make the protestors look more violent?

Keep in mind that many conservatives, including the current White House occupant, view what I and many others consider to be unbiased journalism as journalism that is biased to the left. Also keep in mind that the President's sometimes (and sometimes not) friend, Elon Musk, has called empathy and sympathy towards other human beings in trouble as being against how God wishes us to behave. So reporting that describes the plights of victims of various Administration policies (including towards the media) is considered to be biased against the President by his supporters.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Which is what I though conservatives wanted to eliminate from news coverage. Aren't they the ones saying they want "balanced coverage?" Isn't that what was in the deal Ellison signed with Carr? Here's what they promised last year (...)

Since then, they put a biased opinion journalist in charge of the news division. How does that solve the bias problem?

I know your questions are rhetorical, because you and I both know that these conservative arguments are made in bad faith, but the answer is obvious: they want only their viewpoints to be represented. Fox is the model. But here's the thing: Roger Ailes certainly wasn't a journalist. He came out of advertising. But he knew television production thoroughly. Between that knowledge and his advertising background, he could be very effective in molding a cable channel that sold a particular point of view. Bari Weiss lacks that knowledge and background. So anything she puts together is going to be a pale imitation of Fox. Perhaps the model was to let the CBS heritage and reputation help sell biased interpretations of the news. She's blown it.

Or perhaps the point was simply to hollow out a once-respected news organization and then dump it on the side of the road for dead. Thus, failure would become success. The question then becomes how much damage is done to Paramount as a whole.