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By Dawn Chmielewski and Helen Coster LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News, the news division of U.S. broadcaster CBS, as part of a deal to acquire the online news site she founded, The Free Press. The appointment is seen as Ellison's bet that Weiss, a successful entrepreneur and outsider with billionaire connections, can modernize and turn around the powerful but third-placed broadcast news network.   The companies did not disclose the deal value in Monday's announcement. A source familiar with the matter said it was for $150 million.  In an essay announcing the transaction on Monday, Weiss, 41, said the deal provides "a chance to help reshape a storied media organization—to help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism." Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, took over the CBS network and other Paramount properties earlier this year when his company Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global in a $8.4 billion deal. He helped secure regulatory approval for the deal with the promise that the CBS network would reflect "a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum." Monday's announcement capped months of talks between Ellison and Weiss. The newly minted media baron first floated the idea at July's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, a frequent staging ground for major media mergers, according to media reports. Weiss previously worked in the opinion sections of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, describing herself as the most right-wing person at the Times and the most politically progressive at the Journal. Defying easy characterization, she has been critical of diversity initiatives, defended gay marriage, supported reproductive rights, and described herself as proudly pro-Israel. She resigned as opinion writer for the Times in July 2020, in a 1,500-word open letter in which she said she had been the subject of "constant bullying" by colleagues who disagreed with her views. She went on to launch an independent media company, The Free Press, which she began as a newsletter in 2021. FROM NEW YORK TIMES TO START-UP, AND BACK TO LEGACY MEDIA In 2022, she wrote that The Free Press was founded on a credo of "honesty, doggedness, and fierce independence." In a letter to Paramount employees on Monday, Ellison wrote that the company is a steward of one of the world's most iconic news organizations. “We are challenging ourselves to do better – recognizing that we have the ability to reach a broad audience and demonstrate constructive, respectful, and bipartisan dialogue in our own work,” he wrote. Weiss “brings a passion for reaching broad audiences through rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum,” he wrote. In a letter to CBS News employees, Weiss said that CBS was part of her family tradition. "Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh,"  Weiss wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. "The opportunity to build on that legacy with you — and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it — is an extraordinary privilege." Weiss said she wanted to hear from the staff at CBS News about what was working and what was not, with the goal of making CBS News the most-trusted news organization in America. She promised to listen with "an open mind, a fresh notebook and an urgent deadline." The clock is ticking for the traditional nightly newscast, whose audience is dwindling in an era of instant access to information online and on social media. The "CBS Evening News" show attracts an average of nearly 3.8 million viewers, fewer than its broadcast rivals, according to the most recent Nielsen data.  "Bari Weiss runs a small passionate team that truly understands how to build a brand and engage their followers," said LightShed Partners media analyst Richard Greenfield. "CBS News outside of '60 Minutes' does not mean much to the average consumer in 2025. (It) will be fascinating to see if and how Bari can change that." FREE PRESS CHALLENGES CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVES The Free Press has earned a reputation for challenging conventional narratives. Notable articles include a first-person essay from a then-senior editor at NPR, who accused the public radio network of liberal bias that cost it listeners' trust.  Another offered a whistleblower account of the Washington University Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, which reported vulnerable teenagers with mental health problems rushed into life-altering treatments. In a 2023 essay in Tablet magazine, Weiss argued for the dismantling of institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, writing that the movement "threatens not just Jews— but America itself."  The reaction to her hiring has been mixed. Judy Marie Muller, a former correspondent for CBS and ABC News, and a professor emerita of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, called Weiss’ appointment a “sad shift.” "We can say what we want coming in — yes, let's stick to these high standards — and then we'll just see what happens," said Muller. "I think we have to watch what she does, not what she says." Weiss had never been a reporter and had "zero news experience," said Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Weiss will report directly to David Ellison and help set an editorial course for CBS News.  The Free Press, which has about 1.5 million subscribers including 170,000 paying members, will remain independent, retaining its brand and operations, and will continue to publish, the companies said.  Prior to the Paramount-Skydance deal being cleared, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Federal Communications Commission has said the settlement and regulatory review were unrelated. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Helen Coster in New York, Aditya Soni and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Nick Zieminski and Rosalba O'Brien)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Dawn Chmielewski and Helen Coster LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News, the news division of U.S. broadcaster CBS, as part of a deal to acquire the online news site she founded, The Free Press. The appointment is seen as Ellison's bet that Weiss, a successful entrepreneur and outsider with billionaire connections, can modernize and turn around the powerful but third-placed broadcast news network.   The companies did not disclose the deal value in Monday's announcement. A source familiar with the matter said it was for $150 million.  In an essay announcing the transaction on Monday, Weiss, 41, said the deal provides "a chance to help reshape a storied media organization—to help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism." Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, took over the CBS network and other Paramount properties earlier this year when his company Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global in a $8.4 billion deal. He helped secure regulatory approval for the deal with the promise that the CBS network would reflect "a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum." Monday's announcement capped months of talks between Ellison and Weiss. The newly minted media baron first floated the idea at July's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, a frequent staging ground for major media mergers, according to media reports. Weiss previously worked in the opinion sections of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, describing herself as the most right-wing person at the Times and the most politically progressive at the Journal. Defying easy characterization, she has been critical of diversity initiatives, defended gay marriage, supported reproductive rights, and described herself as proudly pro-Israel. She resigned as opinion writer for the Times in July 2020, in a 1,500-word open letter in which she said she had been the subject of "constant bullying" by colleagues who disagreed with her views. She went on to launch an independent media company, The Free Press, which she began as a newsletter in 2021. FROM NEW YORK TIMES TO START-UP, AND BACK TO LEGACY MEDIA In 2022, she wrote that The Free Press was founded on a credo of "honesty, doggedness, and fierce independence." In a letter to Paramount employees on Monday, Ellison wrote that the company is a steward of one of the world's most iconic news organizations. “We are challenging ourselves to do better – recognizing that we have the ability to reach a broad audience and demonstrate constructive, respectful, and bipartisan dialogue in our own work,” he wrote. Weiss “brings a passion for reaching broad audiences through rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum,” he wrote. In a letter to CBS News employees, Weiss said that CBS was part of her family tradition. "Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh,"  Weiss wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. "The opportunity to build on that legacy with you — and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it — is an extraordinary privilege." Weiss said she wanted to hear from the staff at CBS News about what was working and what was not, with the goal of making CBS News the most-trusted news organization in America. She promised to listen with "an open mind, a fresh notebook and an urgent deadline." The clock is ticking for the traditional nightly newscast, whose audience is dwindling in an era of instant access to information online and on social media. The "CBS Evening News" show attracts an average of nearly 3.8 million viewers, fewer than its broadcast rivals, according to the most recent Nielsen data.  "Bari Weiss runs a small passionate team that truly understands how to build a brand and engage their followers," said LightShed Partners media analyst Richard Greenfield. "CBS News outside of '60 Minutes' does not mean much to the average consumer in 2025. (It) will be fascinating to see if and how Bari can change that." FREE PRESS CHALLENGES CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVES The Free Press has earned a reputation for challenging conventional narratives. Notable articles include a first-person essay from a then-senior editor at NPR, who accused the public radio network of liberal bias that cost it listeners' trust.  Another offered a whistleblower account of the Washington University Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, which reported vulnerable teenagers with mental health problems rushed into life-altering treatments. In a 2023 essay in Tablet magazine, Weiss argued for the dismantling of institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, writing that the movement "threatens not just Jews— but America itself."  The reaction to her hiring has been mixed. Judy Marie Muller, a former correspondent for CBS and ABC News, and a professor emerita of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, called Weiss’ appointment a “sad shift.” "We can say what we want coming in — yes, let's stick to these high standards — and then we'll just see what happens," said Muller. "I think we have to watch what she does, not what she says." Weiss had never been a reporter and had "zero news experience," said Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Weiss will report directly to David Ellison and help set an editorial course for CBS News.  The Free Press, which has about 1.5 million subscribers including 170,000 paying members, will remain independent, retaining its brand and operations, and will continue to publish, the companies said.  Prior to the Paramount-Skydance deal being cleared, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Federal Communications Commission has said the settlement and regulatory review were unrelated. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Helen Coster in New York, Aditya Soni and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Nick Zieminski and Rosalba O'Brien)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Tesla teased an October 7 event, in which investors and analysts anticipate the unveiling of a more affordable vehicle to counter falling sales, sending the shares of the Elon Musk-led electric automaker more than 5% higher on Monday. In a nine-second video posted on social media platform X on Sunday, Tesla showed a vehicle with its headlights illuminated in a dark setting, while hinting at an event set for Tuesday in a separate video that had "10/7" at the end. The teaser follows Tesla's record third-quarter deliveries, driven by a surge in EV purchases ahead of the expiration of the $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit on September 30.  However, analysts expect Tesla's annual deliveries to fall for a second straight year to about 1.62 million vehicles, as expiring incentives and a demand slowdown linked to CEO Musk's polarizing politics weigh on sales. Tesla has previously delayed rolling out a lower-cost version of the Model Y in the U.S. It said in June it had made "first builds" of the vehicle, but would start selling it in the fourth quarter and ramp up output at a pace that would be slower than planned. The stripped-down version is designed to be roughly 20% cheaper to produce than the refreshed Model Y and could scale to about 250,000 units a year in the U.S. by 2026. Tesla has not revealed details of how it plans to cut costs. Analysts have said reducing the size of the battery, changing to cloth seats from leather and removing some audio speakers, the glass roof and the rear touchscreen would be key to Tesla trimming costs. The scale of the cost cut is crucial for Tesla's already squeezed margins and will be closely watched. Wall Street expects Tesla's deliveries to jump next year to 1.85 million vehicles, with the cheaper model accounting for 155,610 units in 2026, according to Visible Alpha estimates. "Tesla is teasing something big as a flurry of X posts has fans bracing for what looks like the launch of a more affordable Model Y tomorrow," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, who personally owns Tesla shares. "The price tag will be the real tell, offering clues on how far Tesla has pushed cost savings and how much new demand it can unlock." The company has not introduced a new mass-market vehicle in years, relying heavily on incremental updates to the Model 3 and Model Y to drive sales. Sales of its last major launch, the Cybertruck, have struggled, with Tesla offering thousands of dollars in discounts for vehicles in inventory in the past few months.  A U.S. recall filing in March showed 46,096 Cybertrucks had been built between its introduction in November 2023 and early this year. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Arun Koyyur)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)