Paramount is flatly denying a report that Bari Weiss could lose control over key CBS News broadcasts amid mounting turmoil inside the network’s news division.
The company issued a statement Tuesday insisting Weiss retains the “full support” of Paramount and Skydance boss David Ellison after Puck reported that executives had privately discussed scaling back her authority over “60 Minutes,” “CBS Evening News” and “CBS Mornings.”
“Bari has the full support of Paramount and David Ellison as the editorial leader overseeing CBS News and 60 Minutes,” a Paramount spokesperson told The Post.
“Reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate.”
When pressed by The Post on whether Paramount was specifically denying discussions about having Weiss cede authority over marquee CBS News programs, Paramount chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman responded directly via email: “yes we are denying and the Puck report is false.”
The denial came after Puck reported that Paramount executives had quietly begun reconsidering the breadth of Weiss’ authority following months of internal backlash, negative press and growing concern inside CBS News over her management style.
According to Puck, discussions inside Paramount involved potentially reducing Weiss’ direct oversight of CBS News’ linear television operations while shifting her focus toward digital strategy and broader editorial priorities.
Puck reported that some executives privately believed Weiss had been handed “too broad” a mandate despite lacking traditional television management experience.
The report also said insiders inside CBS News and “60 Minutes” viewed Weiss as “drastically overstretched” while struggling to manage the demands of the network.
The mounting scrutiny around Weiss comes as tensions continue to engulf “60 Minutes,” where staffers have grown alarmed by what many view as unprecedented editorial interference inside the famously independent newsmagazine.
Weiss, the founder of The Free Press, was installed atop CBS News by Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison as part of an aggressive effort to remake the struggling news division — but her tenure has quickly become engulfed in controversy.
The turmoil escalated after Anderson Cooper announced he would leave “60 Minutes” after nearly two decades.
While Cooper publicly said he wanted to spend more time with his children, Status reported he had also grown uncomfortable with Weiss’ expanding editorial role and the network’s ideological direction.
In his farewell Sunday night, Cooper appeared to allude to the internal tensions, stressing that the “independence” of “60 Minutes” had been “critical” to its success.
Weiss has since faced backlash over several editorial disputes, including the delayed airing of Sharyn Alfonsi’s “Inside CECOT” segment about Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador and the decision to hand a Benjamin Netanyahu interview to CBS correspondent Major Garrett instead of veteran “60 Minutes” journalist Lesley Stahl.
Meanwhile, Weiss’ revamp of “CBS Evening News” under Tony Dokoupil has struggled to gain traction.
The broadcast has suffered ratings declines and fresh embarrassment after Dokoupil was forced to anchor from Taiwan — rather than Beijing — when he reportedly failed to secure a Chinese visa in time for President Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping.
During the chaotic Taiwan broadcast, a cameraman collapsed live on air, forcing Dokoupil to abruptly halt the segment and call for a doctor.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
