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  "path": "/news/anderson-cooper-bari-weiss-cbs",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-24T16:55:26.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.advocate.com",
  "tags": [
    "Anderson cooper",
    "Bari weiss",
    "Cbs news",
    "Media",
    "News",
    "Television",
    "Anderson",
    "Cooper",
    "announced his departure",
    "Anderson Cooper steps down as '60 Minutes' correspondent after two decades",
    "newsletter",
    "reports",
    "Who is Bari Weiss, the right-wing anti-trans queer woman being given the keys to CBS News?",
    "Donald Trump’s",
    "according to",
    "Bari Weiss’s CBS newsroom reportedly clashed over how to cover transgender people"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nFor months, the turmoil surrounding CBS News has simmered behind the scenes, with nervous executives, frustrated producers, sagging ratings, newsroom leaks, and growing whispers that one of America’s most iconic television news divisions is losing its institutional footing.\n\nA series of damaging reports across the media industry has intensified scrutiny of CBS News chief Bari Weiss, the queer, anti-trans former __New York Times__ opinion editor and founder of __The Free Press,__ who was elevated last year to the upper ranks of broadcast leadership despite little traditional television management experience.\n\nThe clearest sign yet of the unrest arrived from one of the network’s most recognizable journalists, longtime gay correspondent Anderson Cooper. Cooper announced his departure in February.\n\nDuring his farewell appearance on _60 Minutes_ last week, Cooper offered what many inside the industry interpreted as a carefully calibrated warning about the future of the legendary program.\n\n“I hope __60 Minutes__ remains __60 Minutes__ ,” Cooper said, while emphasizing that the show’s “independence” had been “critical.”\n\n**Related** : Anderson Cooper steps down as '60 Minutes' correspondent after two decades\n\nAccording to reports from Oliver Darcy’s __Status__ newsletter and coverage from multiple outlets, Weiss was furious and blindsided by the remarks, which reportedly aired without her advance knowledge. The moment fueled an already growing perception that CBS News is in the midst of an ideological and institutional identity crisis.\n\nIn recent weeks, mounting concern among executives tied to Paramount Global and Skydance leadership about the state of the network under Weiss’ stewardship has emerged, __The New Republic__ reports.\n\nPublicly, Paramount has continued to defend her, insisting that she retains the confidence of the leadership and the incoming owner, David Ellison. Privately, however, media reports suggest discussions have emerged around whether Weiss’ role overseeing core broadcast operations could eventually be reduced.\n\n**Related** : Who is Bari Weiss, the right-wing anti-trans queer woman being given the keys to CBS News?\n\nThe pressure intensified after an embarrassing international reporting fiasco during President Donald Trump’s recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.\n\nWhile rival networks secured access for their top anchors in Beijing, CBS failed to obtain a Chinese visa in time for anchor Tony Dokoupil, forcing him to broadcast from Taiwan instead, more than 1,000 miles away from the summit.\n\nThe optics were brutal.\n\nCritics inside the network reportedly described the episode as “very sloppy” and “possibly the dumbest decision in the history of broadcast news,” according to the __New York Post__. The assignment quickly became fodder for rival media reporters and late-night comedians.\n\nThe problems compounded almost immediately. Dokoupil later revealed that the Taipei hotel hosting CBS crews restricted political broadcasts after segments discussing Taiwanese fears of China aired. A veteran cameraman also reportedly suffered a medical emergency during the trip.\n\n**Related** : Bari Weiss’s CBS newsroom reportedly clashed over how to cover transgender people\n\nSince departing __The New York Times__ in 2020 after publicly criticizing what she described as ideological conformity inside elite journalism, Weiss has become both a hero to critics of progressive media culture and a lightning rod to opponents who see her as advancing an anti-“woke” political agenda under the banner of free expression.\n\nHer arrival at CBS transformed those broader culture war tensions into an internal battle over the future of one of television journalism’s most prestigious institutions.\n\nSupporters argue Weiss is attempting to modernize an aging newsroom at a moment when public trust in traditional media has cratered, and audiences increasingly reject institutional authority. Critics counter that the network is drifting toward a more personality-driven, ideologically reactive model that risks compromising editorial independence.\n\nThose concerns escalated last December amid reports that a planned __60 Minutes__ segment examining Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador’s controversial CECOT prison was shelved or delayed after intervention from Weiss and senior leadership, prompting accusations of editorial interference.",
  "title": "Anderson Cooper’s ’60 Minutes’ farewell intensifies Bari Weiss scrutiny at CBS"
}