Bari Weiss. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
On Wednesday evening, newly minted CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss held court at an event for The Free Press at Capital Turnaround in Washington, D.C. Weiss was there for a conversation with Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, but the gathering served a second purpose: a way for Washington-based CBS News staffers to meet and mingle with their brand-new Free Press quasi-colleagues. It also allowed Weiss, some 72 hours into her new role, to get face time with the Tiffany Network troops she now leads.
Weiss has been working all week to make a good impression with her CBS News staffers. On Monday, as Status reported, she met with senior leadership at CBS News, in addition to show executive producers. On Tuesday, she greeted the rank-and-file during the outlet’s daily morning editorial call. Thus far, Weiss is being viewed skeptically inside CBS News, to put it mildly. Senior leaders inside the company are holding their breath as they cautiously get to know her, and Weiss’ closing line about doing “the fucking news” on the Tuesday call drew eye rolls across the newsroom.
Whether Weiss can endear herself to the staff remains an open question. Which is why her past conduct at previous workplaces is so relevant now—it offers clues to what kind of leader and manager she might be. Some of her former employees and associates have publicly spoken highly of her, praising her hustle, entrepreneurship, and editorial point of view. But others who have worked with Weiss tell a very different story, one marked by friction, disorganization, and erratic management.
According to multiple people who’ve worked closely with her, Weiss often…
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The Washington Post building. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Status Scoop | Leaving Her Post: Samantha Henig, who was appointed as the general manager of venture projects for The WaPo in December and tasked with defining the strategy for the now-defunct "third newsroom,” is departing the newspaper, according to people familiar with the matter…
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