On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver launched a pointed critique of the recent decision to install Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News following the network’s acquisition of her media outlet, The Free Press.
Oliver criticized Weiss’s journalistic track record, calling her work “irresponsible” at best and “deeply misleading” at worst. He singled out stories from The Free Press that he argues failed fact checks, including one on undernourishment deaths in Gaza and another involving a trans-family whistleblower in Missouri.
Although Oliver acknowledged the role of opinion in media, he said it’s fundamentally different when an opinion-oriented figure leads a major news division. “I wouldn’t want anyone who led a pure opinion outlet … to suddenly be running CBS News,” he said.
Oliver also warned that the move could suggest a shift in CBS’s editorial direction, potentially influenced by ideological priorities. He raised concern that resignations, staff shakeups, or changes in coverage could signal deeper changes underway.
His on-air critique comes amid broader unease about the transformation underway at CBS News and how Weiss’s leadership might reshape a storied journalism institution for better or for worse.
