Reports that embattled CBS News head Bari Weiss is searching for a sympathetic ear among journalists for an interview to clear her name have some in the executive suites in a bit of a panic.
According to media watchdog Status, Weiss is eager to launch a media counter-offensive. She’s been in talks with the New York Times’ Michael Barbaro about appearing on “The Daily” podcast—a choice that reveals her strategy: find a friendly interviewer willing to let her explain away the wreckage.
As Oliver Darcy is reporting, Weiss, who counts Barbaro as “a friend and admirer,” even floated his name earlier this year as a potential addition to “CBS Mornings.” Now she’s leveraging that relationship for what amounts to a high-stakes PR intervention.
However, multiple sources told Status that Weiss has been advised against doing the “blockbuster sit-down,” with some executives pumping the brakes because David Ellison’s $111 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery is still pending,
Paramount executives are reportedly worried Weiss might complicate the acquisition, because they want to “avoid as much media scrutiny as possible—and such a media appearance would not help.”
Behind the scenes, Weiss has reportedly been conducting an ongoing charm offensive. She’s held off-the-record phone calls with journalists over recent months and met privately with media figures.
The problem is “Weiss has no compelling story to sell,” Darcy wrote.
Under her leadership, CBS News ratings have plummeted to historic lows, the Status report noted. She’s been openly accused of ethical violations by some of the network’s most respected journalists—allegations CBS News has denied but that have stuck in the public consciousness. Her “60 Minutes” purge triggered mass staff resignations and created a public relations catastrophe.
According to Darcy, Weiss may believe she can explain it all away in a sympathetic interview; however, “More likely, a Weiss interview would serve up fresh material for her critics, further damaging her public reputation and creating an avoidable distraction for Paramount at a particularly sensitive moment.”
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