Bari Weiss Was ‘Furious’ and ‘Blindsided’ by Anderson Cooper’s 60 Minutes Swan Song: Report

(L: Photo by Alberto E. Tamargo/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images; R: Screenshot via CNN)

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss was “furious” and felt “blindsided” by Anderson Cooper’s remarks during his final 60 Minutes episode, according to a report by Oliver Darcy at Status.

Weiss’s tenure at CBS News since she was tapped for the role by CEO David Ellison, the CEO of parent company Paramount Skydance, has been described by many media observers as rocky, and many of the critical headlines connect to the turmoil at 60 Minutes. Weiss had written for The New York Times for years before launching The Free Press, but had no broadcast journalism experience.

The issues at 60 Minutes have included the departure of several longtime top staffers and Weiss’s decision to delay airing a segment on the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration sent some undocumented immigrants in contravention of court orders.

Cooper was reportedly on Weiss’s short list for the next anchor to helm CBS Evening News, but he not only turned her down for the anchor spot, he declined an offer to renew his contract with 60 Minutes. Weiss turned to Tony Dokoupil to anchor Evening News instead; his few months in the anchor chair have been plagued with tech problems, visa problems, accusations Weiss is putting a heavy thumb on the scale of the show’s journalism to satisfy Ellison, and numerous current and former CBS staffers dissing him and the show anonymously to reporters.

When Cooper wrapped up his final 60 Minutes episode Sunday, it was the culmination of nearly two decades as a correspondent at the television news magazine. During that time, Cooper won four Emmys and numerous other accolades for his reporting. When his exit was announced, Darcy quoted an industry observer source as calling his pending departure “another black eye for Bari.”

During that last show, Cooper took the opportunity to share his views about the importance of the “independence” of 60 Minutes, calling it “crucial” to the show’s success. He expressed his hopes for the show’s future — remarks that were widely interpreted as “subtly critiqu[ing] the show’s direction” under Weiss and Ellison’s stewardship, as Puck’s Dylan Byers described it.

“I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes,” said Cooper. “There’s very few things that have been around for as long as 60 Minutes has and maintain the quality that it has. Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change. But I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is always remains.”

In Darcy’s latest report, he called Cooper’s remarks “striking,” as they were not just coming from “one of the most recognized news anchors in the world,” but “were published by CBS News—the very platform Weiss oversees,” which “generated a wave of headlines, adding to an endless bout of negative press Weiss has grappled with as CBS News boss.”

Weiss was angry about Cooper’s parting commentary, Darcy wrote:

Behind the scenes, Weiss was furious, Status has learned. Indeed, according to people familiar with the matter, Weiss had not been given advance notice of Cooper’s remarks and was effectively blindsided by them. The 42-year-old editor was also not especially pleased by Cooper using the CBS News platform to take a thinly veiled swipe at her. And it must have especially hurt after Weiss personally made overtures to Cooper with the aim of giving him a larger presence at the network, only for the star anchor to turn her down.

Weiss did not speak about the matter to Tanya Simon, the executive producer of “60 Minutes” who has tried to both placate Weiss, while also maintaining the integrity of the newsmagazine. But I’m told her displeasure ultimately made its way to her.

This may end up “a bit awkward for Cooper” soon, however, as Darcy pointed out, because Paramount Skydance is seeking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. That would put Cooper back under a corporate management team that includes Ellison and Weiss, although it’s unknown what role Weiss might play in the new media conglomerate, if the merger goes through.

Mediaite reached out to a spokesperson for Paramount on this story but has not yet received a response.

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