Axios first reported that Bari Weiss, who is affiliated with CBS News, is slated to oversee editorial operations at CNN if Paramount SkyDance pursues the acquisition of Warner Bros.

According to the report, Paramount is seeking a partner to manage business operations. Axios interpreted this to mean that if a deal between Paramount SkyDance and Warner Bros. Discovery is finalized, Weiss would be in charge of all news editorial for CBS News and CNN.

Paramount executives have reportedly already begun contacting potential candidates.

The list of potential candidates includes Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group; Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN Worldwide; and Noah Oppenheim, former president of NBC News, Axios reported.

A source told Axios, "Paramount executives are very fond of Bari Weiss. David Ellison believes Bari did an excellent job as editor-in-chief and trusts her completely."

Weiss led a significant overhaul of CBS News after her former publication, "The Free Press," was acquired by CBS.

Upon her departure from The New York Times in July 2020, she released a scathing resignation letter exposing the company's ideological bias and the systematic bullying she experienced from colleagues, causing a major stir in the American media landscape. She subsequently founded her own digital media outlet.

According to her resignation letter, The New York Times strategically hired her in 2017 to incorporate diverse voices, including moderate conservatives. However, her subsequent writings criticizing "PC culture" and "cancel culture" placed her at the center of continuous controversy both internally and externally.

Weiss's tenure at CBS News was also marked by controversy, with high-profile network figures such as Scott Pelley of the flagship program "60 Minutes" being dismissed.

Since Weiss took over as editor-in-chief of CBS News in October 2025, CBS News' reporting tone and personnel composition have been widely perceived as shifting noticeably towards a right-leaning and "anti-PC, anti-woke" orientation.

By Hong Sung-goo, Chief Reporter, NNP USA / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com