Bari Weiss To Unveil Slate Of New Podcasters And Other Contributors As Part of CBS News Plans

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss plans to announce a slate of new contributors, including podcasters and commentators, at an all staff meeting later in the morning on Tuesday.

Among the names set to join the network as paid contributors are figures like historian Niall Ferguson and Patrick McGee, who specializes in tech and China and is a contributor to Weiss’ The Free Press, which CBS-parent Paramount acquired when she was tapped to lead the news division, according to a source familiar with the plans. Axios first reported on the new hires.

Also on the list are podcasters Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia, chef Clare de Boer, physician Mark Hyman, author Caroline Chambers and Casey Lewis, who has a Substack about emerging trends in youth culture.

Weiss plans to talk about her strategy for the news division, after what has been a period of tumult. That included layoffs late last year — and more expected — and her decision to pull a 60 Minutes segment on Trump administration deportations even though it had already been promoted. The correspondent on the piece, Sharyn Alfonsi, issued a blistering note to colleagues about the decision, calling it political. It eventually aired a month later.

In the announcement of the “all hands meeting,” employees were asked to submit questions for Weiss. But she is expected to lay out her vision for the future of CBS News, which new owner David Ellison had signaled would be in for an overhaul.