Bari Weiss Reportedly Plotting To Plunder Conservative Favorite From CNN

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is reportedly seeking to lure Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings from CNN, multiple outlets reported on Monday.

Weiss reportedly invited Jennings to CBS News’ headquarters in New York City, according to Semafor and The New York Post. Weiss took over as editor-in-chief after Skydance, the new parent company of Paramount, which owns CBS, purchased The Free Press for $150 million in early October.

Jennings and Weiss did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about the report. Jennings, a former George W. Bush administration official and former aide to Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has become popular among conservatives for defending Trump on CNN.

Weiss reportedly has a mandate from Skydance CEO David Ellison to restore balance to CBS News, according to NPR.

“We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home,” Ellison said in an Oct. 6 statement that announced Weiss’ hiring and the acquisition of The Free Press.

CBS settled a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the editing 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 outgoing “CBS Evening News” co-host John Dickerson.

Weiss has been eyeing a new weekday anchor for the nightly news broadcast 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 under consideration to return to the desk after departing in January 2025 in favor of Dickerson and co-host Maurice DuBois.

The effort to hire Baier, first reported by Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter, may not take place immediately, since he is under contract with Fox through 2028 at a salary of $14 million per year, according to Mediaite. Jennings, who is not a full-time employee at CNN, would likely have more freedom to take an offer from CBS, according to The New York Post.