Overview
- The New York Times reported that Weiss asked 60 Minutes staff, “Why does the country think you’re biased?,” a question described as meeting stunned awkwardness by people familiar with the meeting.
- Producers told the Times the program sees its work as nonpartisan, even as Weiss presses for bigger guests and personally helped secure Benjamin Netanyahu, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff for recent 60 Minutes bookings.
- Weiss has urged executives to identify leakers, drawing internal criticism because her outlet The Free Press previously published leaked CBS materials, according to the Times and The Independent.
- Reaction inside CBS is split, with some hopeful about fresh energy and others skeptical, as governance shifts include the exit of standards chief Claudia Milne and the appointment of ombudsman Kenneth R. Weinstein.
- Weiss’s tenure follows Paramount–Skydance’s purchase of The Free Press for roughly $150 million and comes as CBS faces scrutiny after President Donald Trump’s 2024 lawsuit over a 60 Minutes edit led to a $16 million settlement.