Bari Weiss makes key hires at CBS News ahead of network overhaul

Bari Weiss, CBS News editor in chief, is moving quickly to reshape the network ahead of an expected overhaul and a second round of layoffs. In her first major staffing wave since joining in October, Weiss has begun naming senior executives and bringing in new on-air talent as part of a broader strategy to reboot The Tiffany Network’s news operation.

Sam Siegel was named chief operating officer, the network said in a memo Wednesday. Siegel previously served as COO and chief financial officer at Zoomin, a data-management company that Salesforce acquired last year. Weiss also named Sophie Efthimiatou to be senior vice president of talent and brand strategy; Efthimiatou most recently oversaw writer relations and events at Substack. In addition, the network has tapped several contributors, including ex-marine Elliot Ackerman, cultural analyst Casey Lewis, chef and food writer Clare de Boer, and former national security adviser H. R. McMaster. A source close to CBS News said McMaster was already serving as a contributor. The network did not plan to issue a formal announcement on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, and CBS News declined to comment. Weiss, who sold her anti-woke Free Press to Paramount Skydance for $150 million, has been steadily filling roles ahead of a second wave of layoffs.

On the editorial side, Weiss also tapped Adam Rubenstein as deputy editor and Charles Forelle as managing editor. Rubenstein was Free Press’s deputy editor; Forelle is a former Wall Street Journal editor. On the news front, CBS News recruited ABC News’ Matt Guttman to take a central role in leading the revived “48 Hours” franchise. Separately, the network moved Tony Dokoupil, co-host of “CBS Mornings,” to anchor “CBS Evening News” effective Jan. 5, a move designed to position the network’s flagship newscast with a refreshed lineup. The changes come as “CBS Mornings” undergoes personnel and schedule shifts; the previous co-hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson will remain with the show while other roles shift.

Separately, “CBS Saturday Morning” saw a broader overhaul in late October; anchors Dana Jacobson, Michelle Miller, executive producer Brian Applegate and a host of staffers were let go, and the anchors were replaced by CBS News correspondents Adriana Diaz and Kelly O’Grady, as exclusively reported by The Post earlier this month. Weiss, who had initially planned on officially announcing some of the hires earlier in the week at a town hall, is expected to roll out her vision in the coming days, most likely in the new year, according to sources. The network did not publicly confirm the broader slate of changes at the time the memo circulated.

The moves come as CBS News, part of the Paramount Global-backed CBS network, confronts long-standing ratings challenges and a drive to streamline operations amid a broader corporate restructuring. Weiss’s tenure has been marked by a steady drip of hires tied to her past work in independent and startup media, paired with a push to elevate brand strategy and talent development. Observers say the lineup changes — including the shift of Dokoupil to Evening News and the elevation of Guttman to a leading role on “48 Hours” — signal a broader attempt to unify CBS News’s multi-platform strategy under a refreshed editorial and on-air identity.

Industry watchers note that Weiss’s approach appears to be part of a larger wave of moves at CBS News as leadership negotiates a path through ongoing audience churn and the revenue pressures facing traditional broadcast outlets. While the network has not publicly outlined a complete timetable for the overhaul, people familiar with the plan say the changes are intended to take shape in the coming weeks and into the new year, with formal announcements likely as the year closes or early in the next cycle. The New York Post first reported many of the staffing shifts, and CBS News declined to comment on the specifics.

As Weiss continues to shape the newsroom’s leadership and lineup, the industry will watch closely how these changes affect CBS News’s ratings, brand perception, and cross-platform storytelling in an increasingly competitive media landscape.