Paramount denied reports that it was preparing to reduce the authority of CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, reaffirming its support for her as the editorial leader overseeing CBS News and the network's newsmagazine. The company rejected an account published by Puck describing internal discussions about narrowing her role.

"Yes we are denying and the Puck report is false." Melissa Zukerman, chief communications officer for Paramount, said in an email. Puck reported that senior leadership at Paramount had privately discussed changing Weiss's role to reduce her oversight of CBS News and potentially CNN, pending government approval of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. According to that account, the company could bring in an executive to oversee CBS News and potentially CNN, while Weiss would shift her focus to the news division's digital growth and maintain broad editorial influence across all platforms.

Puck also reported that Paramount executives had begun reconsidering the breadth of Weiss's authority following months of internal backlash, negative press, and growing concern inside CBS News over her management style. The discussions, according to the report, considered reducing her direct oversight of CBS News's linear television operations while shifting her focus to digital strategy and broader editorial priorities.

Some executives privately believed Weiss had been handed too broad a mandate despite lacking traditional television management experience, Puck reported. Insiders at CBS News and the newsmagazine were described as viewing her as having more responsibilities than she could manage while struggling with the network's demands, and staffers had grown concerned about editorial interference in the newsmagazine's coverage, according to the report.

Weiss, the founder of The Free Press, was installed as head of CBS News by David Ellison. She had no experience working in television when she was given oversight of CBS News's editorial operations. Tom Cibrowski serves as president of CBS News. One of Weiss's top priorities upon joining the network was revamping its evening news show.

Over the last five weeks, the CBS Evening News averaged fewer than 4 million total viewers per night. CBS's flagship morning show averaged under 2 million viewers per day over the same period and trailed NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America.

The newsmagazine also lost correspondent Anderson Cooper, who said he wanted to spend more time with his children.