Under Bari Weiss, the “C” in CBS News stands for Cringe.

The Daily Beast’s article on this train wreck is hilarious.

Is this woman serious? Here is my favourite quote:

Weiss compared the nearly 100-year-old network to that of a start-up under her leadership, calling CBS News “the best-capitalized media startup in the world,” while warning there would be further changes.

“But startups aren’t for everyone. They’re places that move at a rapid speed. They experiment. They try new things. They sometimes create noise and, yes, bad press,” she said.

Start-up? Uh, no. CBS News is an institution. Under no circumstances is this a “start-up”. You cannot erase the past.

And memo to Bari Weiss: Ninety percent of start-ups fail. CBS News has been operating for nearly a century: through the Blitz, Vietnam, Watergate, and the digital revolution. Calling it a “start-up” isn’t just historically illiterate; it’s the business equivalent of calling the U.S. Constitution a rough draft.

You can’t erase the likes of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Don Hewitt, Marvin Kalb, Harry Reasoner, and Morley Safer. A more comprehensive list is here.

She also announced CBS will now “put huge emphasis on scoops.”

Scoops?

60 Minutes, which Don Hewitt created in 1968, invented the modern investigative newsmagazine format. Mike Wallace was ambush-interviewing fraudsters before Weiss was born. This isn’t innovation; it’s someone discovering the wheel and claiming credit for transportation.

By the way, Mike Wallace secured an interview with Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran hostage crisis. But sure, tell us more about “scoops,” Bari.

Calling CBS a “start-up” isn’t just ignorant: it’s strategic. It erases institutional memory, dismisses existing expertise, and flatters the newcomer as a founder rather than a steward. Weiss isn’t building something new; she’s inheriting a house and claiming she poured the foundation.

Worse, under her so-called leadership, CBS Evening News ratings have dropped roughly 20 percent. For someone who lectures about “producing a product people want,” the market is sending a clear reply: no thanks.

When Rupert Murdoch decided to launch Fox News, he hired Roger Ailes, a man with 34 years of television experience, two Emmy Awards, and a track record running cable networks. Say what you will about Ailes, but he had genuine credentials. Weiss has a Substack. Murdoch built a machine; Paramount bought a blogger.

Neither Weiss nor the Ellisons have the gravitas to salvage their sinking ship. They think they can just waltz in, haughtily throw a nuclear bomb, grab some dutiful yes-men, spew some partisan propaganda, and the young audiences are going to flock to their ruins.

Not happening.

Research appendix compiled with Perplexity Max; independently verified.