Norah O'Donnell Pushes Back Against CBS Viewers Boycotting Over Bari Weiss
Key Takeaways
- •Norah O'Donnell replied directly to Instagram commenters who said they would not watch CBS because of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, telling them to watch the show.
- •Bari Weiss, formerly of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and founder of The Free Press, was named CBS editor-in-chief during a broader restructuring under Paramount ownership.
- •Ratings for CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News have dropped, and '60 Minutes' has lost veteran correspondents during Weiss's tenure.
- •Some viewers criticized Paramount's David Ellison and Larry Ellison as Trump allies, and referenced the ending of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Paramount sought Justice Department approval for the Skydance merger.
- •O'Donnell, previously anchor of CBS Evening News, returns to the morning franchise as audience trust in the network becomes a central issue for its new leadership.
Returning CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell took to Instagram to urge viewers not to let her boss, Bari Weiss, scare them away from the network.
CBS Mornings announced O'Donnell's return in an Instagram post, and Zeteo media columnist Justin Baragona noted in a post on X how she began defending Weiss, the CBS editor-in-chief, in the comments. Weiss, a former New York Times and Wall Street Journal journalist who founded the outlet The Free Press, was named to the top editorial role amid a broader restructuring of CBS News under its new Paramount ownership. Weiss has come under fire as ratings for CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News have plummeted and the network's flagship program, "60 Minutes," has lost veteran correspondents.
Instagram user @courtneylonniestevens wrote, "I feel Norah is too good to stay with CBS. I wish some other news force had scooped her up. As long as Bari Weiss and the Ellisons are in charge bye bye," referring to David Ellison, the CEO of CBS' parent company, Paramount, and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The Ellisons have been criticized as Trump allies.
"This is so silly," O'Donnell replied. "Just watch our show!"
"This is tough," wrote another Instagram user, @stormy.angel.ghc. "But I can't watch CBS anymore with Bari Weiss running things. Love Nora tho."
"This makes no sense," O'Donnell responded. "Watch our show."
"NO!! Go to another network," Instagram user @scammbuster wrote. "I will never watch a minute of CBS programming after the Colbert/60 minutes fiasco. You deserve better CBS!"
The comment referred to the ending of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a CBS show that was critical of Trump, as Paramount sought approval from the Trump Justice Department for a merger with Skydance. Paramount is now seeking a merger with rival movie studio Warner Bros. Discovery.
O'Donnell responded, "@scammbuster thanks for commenting. Give us a try."
O'Donnell, who previously anchored CBS Evening News before stepping away from that role, is now returning to the network's morning franchise at a moment when audience trust in the brand has become a central question for its new leadership.
Many of the comments on the Instagram post lamented that O'Donnell was returning while Weiss remained in charge. On X, reactions to Baragona's post echoed that sentiment.
"Sorry, @norahODonnell," wrote Grant Stern, executive editor of Occupy Democrats. "It's not silly. You're going to tarnish yourself at CBS. The internet never forgets."
