Bari Weiss’ promotion to the top editorial job at CBS News was heralded as the dawn of a new era — one of balance, integrity, and a return to what the public might recognize as journalism. But within days of her appointment, that mission hit the same iceberg that has long haunted legacy media: a refusal to report fairly when the scandal involves a Democrat.
Weiss, fresh off a $150 million acquisition of her independent outlet The Free Press, now sits in one of the most influential seats in American journalism. Her arrival came with a clear mandate: end the culture of partisan blind spots and enforce a new editorial standard that scrutinizes both parties equally. She even laid it out in writing — ten core values, front and center. The message was echoed by her new boss, Paramount CEO David Ellison, who made clear he wants CBS to move past the tribalism that’s bled trust from the institution.
But old habits, as the saying goes, die hard.
As the political world reeled from the emergence of violent and deeply disturbing text messages sent by Jay Jones — the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in Virginia — CBS News remained conspicuously silent. Despite messages that included fantasies of murdering a Republican colleague and grotesque hypotheticals involving his children, CBS’s flagship programs like CBS Mornings, CBS Evening News, and Face the Nation carried on without a single mention of the controversy.
To its credit, CBS did publish a streaming piece on the scandal, buried far from prime-time airwaves. But considering the gravity of the allegations — threats of violence, reckless conduct, and questionable ethics surrounding Jones’ community service — the lack of coverage on national broadcasts is glaring.
What’s even more jarring is that this comes at a time when CBS News has repeatedly been called out for its handling of political coverage. From brushing aside Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020 to the Kamala Harris “word salad” editing scandal that ended in a multimillion-dollar settlement, the network’s editorial decisions have often leaned in one direction.
This makes the Jay Jones blackout more than a one-off oversight. It’s a litmus test — not for Bari Weiss alone, but for whether the culture she inherited is willing to evolve.
Weiss has been accused of being “polarizing,” largely by the very media circles that bristle at anyone who challenges orthodoxy on gender ideology, DEI, or media groupthink. Her independence — and her willingness to defy the crowd — is precisely what made her a target at The New York Times and a lightning rod for critics now. But it’s also why Ellison bet on her.
Still, reforming CBS News won’t happen with one fiery editorial call or a few values written in a memo. This is about whether America’s once-great newsrooms can shake off the decades-long decay of credibility. For now, the silence on Jones speaks louder than any memo ever could.
