Bari Weiss Reportedly Plotting To Plunder Conservative Favorite From CNN
CBS News Executive Editor Bari Weiss is apparently seeking to lure Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings from CNN, multiple media outlets reported Monday.
Weiss reportedly invited Jennings to CBS News headquarters in New York, according to Semafor and the New York Post. Weiss took over as editor-in-chief after Skydance, the new parent company of CBS owner Paramount, purchased The Free Press for $150 million in early October. (RELATED: The Journos lose it in another choice to lead CBS News)
Jennings and Weiss did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment on the report. Jennings, a former George W. Bush administration official and former aide to Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, became popular among conservatives for defending Trump on CNN.
Scott Jennings (Screenshot/Rumble/CNN)
Weiss reportedly received a mandate from Skydance CEO David Ellison to restore balance at CBS News, according to NPR.
“We believe the majority of the country craves balanced, fact-based news, and we want CBS to be their home,” Ellison said in an Oct. 6 statement announcing Weiss’ hiring and acquisition of The Free Press.
CBS has settled a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the redaction of an October 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was Trump’s opponent in the 2024 presidential election, drawing criticism from inside the company, including from the outgoing “CBS Evening News” co-host. John Dickerson.
Weiss is considering a new weekday anchor for the evening news show and is reportedly plotting to poach “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier from Fox News. Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell is also reportedly considering returning to the office after she leaves in January 2025 in favor of Dickerson and co-host Maurice DuBois.
Efforts to hire Baier, first reported by Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter, may not happen immediately, since he is under contract with Fox until 2028 at a salary of $14 million per year, according to Mediaite. Jennings, who is not employed full-time at CNN, would likely have more freedom to accept an offer from CBS, according to the New York Post.
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