Anti-Woke New CBS Boss Eyeing Fox News' Bret Baier for Key Position... as Bari Weiss 'Quietly Canvassing' for Top Conservative Amid Major Revamp
Bari Weiss is reportedly floating Bret Baier's name as a successor to the CBS Evening News anchor seat.
Oct. 24 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
The anti-woke new boss at CBS News is reportedly looking towards right-wing Fox News for their next top talent, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Bari Weiss has her eye on FOX star Bret Baier, who anchors the cable network's 6 p.m. hour Monday through Friday, as CBS Evening News continues to see an exodus of viewers following an even more left-leaning slant it has taken in recent months.
'Quietly Canvassing' for Baier
Baier has anchored his own evening show on Fox News since 2009.
Weiss, 41, was brought aboard to shake things up at CBS News and its programs, such as the stalwart 60 Minutes, by right-leaning David Ellison, the Chairman and CEO of Paramount, the network's parent company.
According to Olivier Darcy in his Status newsletter, Weiss has been "quietly canvassing” for a major makeover of their flagship nightly news show, with Baier's name mentioned as a potential anchor.
However, the longtime FOX personality is under contract with the network until 2028, which would make his immediate availability nearly impossible, Darcy noted.
Both Sides of the Aisle
Kamala Harris had her most challenging interview on the 2024 campaign trail during a sit down with Baier.
Baier has been a familiar face to Fox News viewers since joining the network in 1998 as its Atlanta bureau chief and correspondent.
After serving stints as Fox's Pentagon and White House correspondent, respectively, he has been anchoring Special Report with Bret Baier since 2009.
Baier received widespread kudos for a tough 2023 interview with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, where he pressed the Republican hard on many issues, including the tycoon's claims that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen.
The journalist also proved his interviewing chops with Trump's 2024 Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, giving the press-shy politician one of her few challenging sit-downs. It was branded "contentious" as the two went at it over immigration and border security.
A 'Champion of Principled Journalism'
Weiss formerly worked at the New York Times.
Moderate Weiss was given the mission to restore balance to CBS News when Ellison announced her hiring on October 6, after the Tiffany Network had been accused of going overly woke.
"We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home," Ellison said about Weiss's big task, calling her a "proven champion of independent, principled journalism."
Weiss worked as an opinion writer at the New York Times before quitting in 2020 amid claims of "constant bullying" in an "illiberal environment."
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native went on to grow her voice in online journalism, co-founding the newsletter The Free Press in 2021. She grew it into a formidable media company, which was purchased by Ellison's Paramount Skydance for $150million earlier this year.
Weiss has been tasked with righting the ship at the network's flagship nightly news program, which saw a major overhaul in January before her arrival.
Norah O'Donnell was booted from her anchor seat, which she had held since 2019, and replaced by the team of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois in January. The show took on a more magazine-style format, also featuring Washington D.C. correspondent Margaret Brennan and weather reporter Lonnie Quinn.
The revamp was a major miss with viewers, who fled in droves.
O'Donnell departed CBS Evening News with 4.8 million viewers, which has since dropped to 4.1 million.
'Bias' at '60 Minutes'
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Weiss has ruffled feathers across all areas of CBS News.
Weiss is already rattling cages at 60 Minutes after a staff meeting, asking, "Why does the country think you're biased?" leaving the venerable correspondents reeling..
The New York Times reported the question left a “stunned awkwardness” in the room.
Trump sued the longtime news magazine show in October 2024, claiming "deceptive conduct" for allegedly editing an interview with Harris during the campaign to make her answers appear more articulate.
CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, famously agreed to pay Trump $16million in August to settle the lawsuit.
