CBS News’ new, controversial editor-in-chief made her name railing against self-censorship. Just a few years later, she’s being accused of doing precisely that.
Conservative commentator turned powerhouse Bari Weiss has thrown 60 Minutes’ credibility into question after pulling a segment on Sunday that detailed the grisly conditions at an El Salvador megaprison where Venezuelan men deported by Donald Trump were held.
The move sparked backlash, with Weiss’ subordinates and outside observers accusing the Columbia University grad of political censorship. On Monday, critics resurfaced some of her own views on self-censorship, which they now viewed as hypocritical.
The Pittsburgh native theatrically resigned from her position as a columnist at The New York Times in July 2020, publishing an open resignation letter in which she accused colleagues of “bullying” her over so-called anti-woke beliefs.
“And so self-censorship has become the norm,” Weiss wrote at the time. “And if, every now and then, she succeeds in getting a piece published that does not explicitly promote progressive causes, it happens only after every line is carefully massaged, negotiated and caveated.”
“I’m old enough to remember Bari Weiss complaining about ‘self-censorship’ at the Times, at how politically sensitive pieces could run only after every line is ‘carefully massaged, negotiated and caveated’ and at how pretextual complaints about a story not being ‘strong enough’ were used to justify caving for political reasons,” Vox correspondent Andrew Prokop wrote on X with a flair of irony.
“That’s old Bari Weiss. New Bari Weiss discovered she likes money more than the truth which is probably the case for 99% of ‘journalists,’” another user replied.
After resigning, Weiss launched her anti-woke blog, The Free Press, which has published pieces such as “I Can Explain Why the Nazi Salute Is Back” and “I Used to Hate Trump. Now I’m a MAGA Lefty.” Her lack of experience in investigative journalism—or broadcast, for that matter—fueled speculation that her sudden rise to the top at CBS was an effort to appease Trump, shortly after the network paid the president $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
In October, billionaire David Ellison’s Skydance—backed by his father, Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison—acquired The Free Press for $150 million. Since then, Weiss has canceled a series of shows and fired dozens of staffers.
At the same time, is making a play against Netflix to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, a company that owns Hollywood studios, CNN, HBO, HGTV, and a vast movie and TV back catalog—and touting his relationship with the president in the process.
Weiss has doubled down on her decision to hold Sunday’s segment, telling staffers on Monday that she held the story because it “wasn’t ready,” according to a leaked transcript of an editorial meeting.
“The story presented very powerful testimony of abuse at CECOT, but that story has already been reported on by places like The Times,” Weiss said. “The public already knows Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison,” she added, alleging that the team needed to “do more.”
In a leaked memo to the 60 Minutes team, veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi blasted Weiss for sidelining the segment for political reasons.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Alfonsi wrote. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now—after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to representatives for Weiss for comment.
The post Bari Weiss’ Free Speech Letter Comes Back to Bite Her appeared first on The Daily Beast.
