CBS News to cut at least 15% of staff as Bari Weiss overhaul rattles newsroom: report

CBS News is set to ax at least 15% of its staff as part of the next round of anticipated layoffs this spring, according to a report.The Bari Weiss-led news division’s planned downsizing comes as parent company Paramount Skydance executes a painful restructuring aimed at cutting costs at the network, Variety reported this week.The cuts could begin as early as March, The Post previously reported.They might also happen starting in May, people familiar with the discussions told Variety, though plans remain fluid.The Post was first to report earlier this week that 11 producers tied to the “CBS Evening News” have already opted to take buyout packages offered last month.The buyout offers for staff on Tony Dokoupil’s nightly half-hour newscast was cast as an “extraordinary chance to leave CBS News with an enhanced separation payment.”Weiss told employees in a January townhall that they were free to exit if they didn’t like her strategy.

She also said she wants to invest in more “revelatory journalism” and emphasize “investigative scoops” that will take advantage of both online and traditional platforms.Her recent moves suggest the network is shifting resources away from traditional reporting roles and toward personality-driven programming aimed at digital and streaming audiences, Variety and the Status newsletter noted.Among other steps, Weiss has named a slew of new contributors including the controversial anti-aging influencer Peter Attia, whose email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein revealed a chummy relationship with the late sex offender.The influencer apologized, calling some of the messages “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible.Weiss has been reluctant to cut ties with him, drawing internal backlash.The company carried out a round of layoffs in October as part of broader cuts across its parent company, Paramount, with fewer than 100 CBS News employees affected.At the time, the reductions were largely overseen by CBS News preside...