Bari Weiss’s revamp of CBS Evening News draws scrutiny after rocky launch

Bari Weiss’s reimagining of the CBS Evening News has come under heavy scrutiny and became a punchline on her own network at the Golden Globes, where host Nikki Glaser quipped that CBS News was “America’s newest place to see BS news.” Ms. Weiss, who became editor in chief of CBS News in October, told top producers the goal for Tony Dokoupil’s two‑week road show was not merely to deliver news but to “drive the news” and to include items with “viral potential,” a memo obtained by The New York Times said.

Mr. Dokoupil’s debut weeknight telecast was marred by a teleprompter error that left him searching for words, and a later lighthearted segment showing memes about Secretary of State Marco Rubio drew online criticism after Mr. Dokoupil ad‑libbed that Rubio was “the ultimate Florida man.” The anchor’s posted introduction, which criticized “legacy media” for relying on “academics or elites,” prompted further mockery and comparisons to Ms.

Weiss’s Free Press site. Ms. Weiss also postponed at the last minute a 60 Minutes segment critical of the Trump administration, prompting accusations from the correspondent that the decision was political; Ms. Weiss said the piece needed to be more “comprehensive and fair” and later blamed a “slow news week” for the firestorm.

Mr. Ellison, who installed Ms. Weiss after acquiring Paramount, won approval for the purchase after Paramount paid $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump against 60 Minutes, the article noted.

Key Topics

Culture, Bari Weiss, Tony Dokoupil, Golden Globes, David Ellison, Marco Rubio