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Paramount has named former New York Times commentator Bari Weiss to oversee CBS News, signaling the newest initiative by current leadership to restructure workings of a major US news outlets.

The company is additionally acquiring The Free Press, the web-based platform Weiss founded after her acrimonious departure from the New York Times, in a arrangement reported to be worth $150 million.

Ms Weiss, who has questioned network journalism for becoming overly political, said she was excited to influence CBS, which was purchased by David Ellison in recent months as part of a broader merger with Paramount.

Profile of the Appointee

Ms Weiss, who started her career at Jewish news outlets, is known for her support of Israel and her questioning of "cancel culture".

Since its start as a email publication in 2021, The Free Press has accumulated 1.5 million followers, including in excess of 170,000 paying members.

It has received recognition for reports such as a feature critical of NPR by one of its previous business editors, as well as an investigation of some photographs used by traditional journalism to illustrate famine in Gaza.

Big name contributors include scholar Niall Ferguson and financial expert Tyler Cowen.

Future Direction

Mr Ellison said the selection of Ms Weiss as chief editor was part of a broader effort to refresh programming at Paramount and make CBS the "most reliable name in news".

"We think the majority of the country desires news that is fair and accurate, and we want CBS to be their destination," he said.

Additional Shifts at CBS

Details of the deal were not made public. Paramount would not address accounts that the company had paid $150 million in stock and cash.

Mr Ellison built his career as a Hollywood movie maker of blockbusters such as Top Gun Maverick, True Grit and World War Z.

He has said his aim is to produce reporting that is more balanced politically, and therefore has the capacity to connect with all audiences.

His acquisition of Paramount was approved by government authorities this season, after the company agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a court case.

To obtain consent of the acquisition, Mr Ellison pledged to establish an impartial arbitrator at CBS to assess concerns of partiality and vowed to oversight bodies that programming would showcase a variety of view points.

He also said CBS's long-running political show "Face the Nation" would no longer air altered conversations.

Alliance Facts

CBS News has a collaborative arrangement with an international broadcaster, meaning news material including recorded segments can be distributed.

In a message declaring the arrangement, Ms Weiss said she had faith in the Paramount executive and his leadership team.

"They are committing fully because they have faith in news. Because they have courage. Because they love this country. And because they understand, as we do, that America cannot thrive without shared information, universal realities, and a shared perspective," she wrote.