Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief at CBS News, was left reeling after Anderson Cooper launched a thinly veiled attack on her during his final 60 Minutes appearance.
Cooper, who announced he was leaving the network in part after becoming disillusioned with its MAGA-fied editorial drift under Weiss’s leadership, made his feelings clear during Sunday night’s episode of the flagship magazine show.
“I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes,” Cooper said. “There’s very few things that have been around for as long as 60 Minutes has and maintained the quality that it has.”
In a pointed jab at Weiss, who plans to completely overhaul the show, the veteran anchor added: “I think the independence of 60 Minutes has been critical.”
According to Status, Weiss was “furious” after seeing Cooper’s attack on her tenure at CBS News. Sources said Weiss was not given advance notice of Cooper’s comments and was “effectively blindsided” when she saw them.
“The 42-year-old editor was also not especially pleased by Cooper using the CBS News platform to take a thinly veiled swipe at her,” Status’ Oliver Darcy wrote. “And it must have especially hurt after Weiss personally made overtures to Cooper with the aim of giving him a larger presence at the network, only for the star anchor to turn her down.”
The departure of Cooper, CBS News’ biggest star, was one of the clearest indications of how much the network has changed since Weiss was parachuted in as editor-in-chief by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
Weiss, who had no experience in television news production before joining CBS News, has overseen numerous scandals and controversies, and a dwindling viewership.
She has also caused tensions within 60 Minutes, a show that traditionally enjoys editorial independence from the rest of CBS News.
This includes pulling an “Inside CECOT” segment about the notorious El Salvador prison that was highly critical of Trump’s hardline deportation policy just before it was due to air, and assigning anchors from across the network to conduct high-profile interviews rather than the show’s usual correspondents.
Her decision to promote Tony Dokoupil to the prestigious Evening News slot has also proved a ratings disaster, with the show now regularly failing to hit the 4 million viewer benchmark.
Earlier this week, Puck reported that CBS bosses have had enough of the slew of negative headlines surrounding Weiss, and that she will be given less control over the network’s top programming, such as 60 Minutes, if Paramount completes its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros.
“Since joining CBS News last year, the anti-‘woke’ founder of The Free Press has been subjected to a relentless barrage of headlines portraying her in a negative light,” Darcy added for Status.
“Even those with the thickest skin can find that level of scrutiny difficult to endure. But Weiss, in particular, has let it get to her, privately expressing frustration to associates with the way she is covered.”
The Daily Beast has contacted CBS News for comment.
