Bari Weiss wants to know what every CBS News staffer does and what they would like to change.
The new editor-in-chief of CBS News sent an email to her new colleagues on Friday morning, telling each of them to send her a note by the end of Tuesday detailing how they spend their working days, as well as what’s “working” and what is “broken” at the storied broadcast network.
“I want to understand how you spend your working hours — and, ideally, what you’ve made (or are making) that you’re most proud of,” Weiss told newsroom employees in the memo, which was viewed by Business Insider.
Weiss advised employees to “be blunt” and avoid jargon like “synergy,” saying that she’s also interested in hearing “how we can be better.”
The Free Press founder wrote that she wanted to “know that we are aligned on achieving a shared vision for CBS News.” She said she would use the memos as discussion guides when she meets staff.
It’s common for new corporate leaders to request information about an organization and the roles of its employees. Requests for memos companywide are less common, but not unheard of.
In Musk’s role as an advisor to President Donald Trump at the Department of Government Efficiency, he instructed staffers to report their work accomplishments. Musk also said they risked losing their jobs if they didn’t comply. He made similar moves when he bought Twitter.
One CBS News veteran said Weiss’ note sounds like “she wants us to justify our jobs and figure out if we align with her agenda.”
Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison on Monday appointed Weiss the top editor of CBS News, the 98-year-old institution home to the likes of Walter Cronkite and “60 Minutes.” He also acquired her conservative-friendly new startup, The Free Press, for $150 million.
Weiss’ new role has caused a stir in the media world. She is known for her criticism of the mainstream media, her background in opinion writing, and her stances on hot-button issues, such as the war in Gaza. These factors have raised questions inside and outside CBS News about what effect she’ll have on the straightlaced network.
Read Weiss’ full memo to CBS News employees below:
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Dear colleagues,
It’s been a whirlwind week. I appreciate all the warm welcomes and those who have served as unpaid tour guides through the labyrinth of this building.
CBS News is a big place with functional titles and reporting structures that I’m learning. But more than the hierarchical niceties, I’m eager to get to know you.
I hope that you are as excited as I am about the prospect of elevating CBS News to its rightful place as No. 1: the most trusted and most consumed news source in the nation. So, I’m interested in any particular ideas you have to achieve this goal.
By the end of day Tuesday, I’d like a memo from each person across our news organization. I’m not looking for a JD or words like synergy. I want to understand how you spend your working hours—and, ideally, what you’ve made (or are making) that you’re most proud of. I’m also interested in hearing your views on what’s working; what’s broken or substandard; and how we can be better. Please be blunt—it will help me greatly.
I’ll read all of them carefully. And they will be held in the strictest of confidence.
Then I’ll use your memo as a discussion guide for when I meet with most of you (ideally, all of you if time permits) in the coming few weeks.
The goal is simple: I want to familiarize myself with you—and I want you to do the same with me—to know that we are aligned on achieving a shared vision for CBS News.
Yours,
Bari
