Bari Weiss has had quite a few, err, ideas about how to reform CBS News since being named editor-in-chief of the joint last October. Many of those ideas have, well, not worked out to say the least.
Weiss was tabbed for the top CBS News job after Paramount boss David Ellison purchased her successful right-leaning Substack, The Free Press, for an eye-watering $150 million. The move was seen by many as a precondition for Ellison to receive federal regulatory approval to purchase Paramount in the first place.
What’s happened next has been rather predictable. Weiss, who had no formal experience in television news before being hired to run CBS News, has made a series of blunders that have torpedoed the perception of the once-august news brand in just a matter of months. As a result, numerous high-profile journalists have resigned or chosen not to renew their contracts at the network.
So perhaps it comes with little surprise that Weiss has had some rather unconventional ideas for how to turn around CBS News’ perpetual third-place status among the major broadcast news networks. One such idea, as reported by Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter on Tuesday, was installing former ESPN anchor turned right-wing provocateur Sage Steele into the network’s morning show.
CBS Mornings, which is currently led by Gayle King and Nate Burleson after the departure of Tony Dokoupil for the CBS Evening News, is looking for a permanent third host. (King signed a contract extension on Wednesday, while Burleson’s status is still in question.) Per Darcy, Bari Weiss had “expressed significant interest in Sage Steele” to fill the vacancy left by Dokoupil.
“I’m told Weiss repeatedly raised Steele’s name. It remains unclear how far any discussions progressed, or whether CBS News and Steele ever held serious talks about her joining the network,” Darcy reports. “When Paramount announced that it was acquiring The Free Press last year, Steele showered Weiss in praise. In any event, I am told that there are currently no ongoing discussions between the two—suggesting that, for whatever reason, things did not work out.”
Since leaving ESPN, Steele has found herself central to several culture war flashpoints. Just last year, Steele was given the “new media” seat at a White House press briefing, where she proceeded to lob a softball question about an impending executive order regarding transgender participation in women’s sports.
More recently, Steele applied the old “stick to sports” mantra to musicians during one of her regular appearances on Fox News, telling artists to “shut up and sing” rather than exercise their first amendment right to speak freely.
Steele isn’t the only former sports journalist to make the transition into right-wing media. Former ESPNer Will Cain now hosts the 4 p.m. hour on Fox News. Former Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya is running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota as a Republican.
Weiss identifying Sage Steele as a potential candidate for CBS Mornings is simply another data point to support how The Free Press founder is looking to put her ideological spin onto a news organization that, prior to her installment, reported without fear or favor. It’s increasingly apparent that that is no longer the case at CBS News.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.