Embattled CBS News Boss Bari Weiss Secretly 'Sought Advice' From Ousted CNN Chief Jeff Zucker: 'He Wanted to Find a Way to Get In' to Her Operation
Jeff Zucker has openly praised Bari Weiss' talent in the past.
March 31 2026, Published 11:59 a.m. ET
As Bari Weiss prepared to make the jump from print and online journalism to take over as the boss of CBS News, she sought out advice from one of the industry's former titans, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Weiss "enlisted the expertise" of Jeff Zucker, who was credited as a wunderkind for helping NBC's Today show become a ratings juggernaut before moving up the ranks at the network. He then served as president of CNN from 2013 to 2022, resigning after failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a female colleague at the network.
Jeff Zucker Wants 'a Way in' at CBS News
Jeff Zucker spent nine years as president of CNN after a long career at NBC.
Zucker is currently serving as the head of RedBird IMI, focusing on global media, entertainment and sports investments, but is reportedly angling to return to the network news grind, according to Page Six Hollywood.
“He wanted to find a way to get in, and she definitely had conversations with him, asking advice,” an insider with knowledge of the talks told the outlet.
Zucker and Weiss are longtime friends, and he was one of The Free Press' loudest cheerleaders. In 2022, Weiss turned her Substack newsletter into an independent online media company after previously working as an opinion page writer and editor at the New York Times.
Weiss sold the company in 2025 to Paramount Skydance, whose owner, David Ellison, was so impressed by her that he appointed her head of CBS News after buying the company.
Jeff Zucker Is a Longtime Friend and Fan of Bari Weiss
Jeff Weiss previously praised Bari Weiss' work at The Free Press.
“She’s just unafraid, and I think that confidence scares a lot of people,” Zucker raved about Weiss in 2024. His son even published material as a freelance writer for The Free Press under Weiss' tenure.
The former media titan praised her ability to look beyond the coastal elites and Washington, D.C., Beltway insiders, gushing that Weiss has a talent for getting a read on "how a huge swath of this country feels."
It was Weiss' anti-woke viewpoints that caught Ellison's eye and were one of the key reasons he brought her to steer the left-leaning news division back towards the middle of the road.
Bari Weiss Could 'Blend Well' With Jeff Zucker
Jeff Zucker worked his way up from field producer to executive producer of NBC's Today, a position he held from 1992 through 2000.
The outlet pointed out that Zucker would bring several advantages if he joined Weiss at CBS News.
Many of her most vocal opponents have been big supporters of the former CNN boss, especially those at the cable news network that could soon be owned by Paramount Skydance if it's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery goes through.
The insiders said getting Zucker aboard would serve as a "third rail" for Ellison as he seeks government approval of the purchase, with the popular former cable news chief as part of his team.
"David doesn't want big personalities that are ego-driven, that have their own agendas," a different source said about Ellison hiring Zucker.
"Look at the team he has built. There's none of that. He wants to bring people together who blend well. Bari blends well," the spy observed about the billionaire's current team.
Bari Weiss Is 'Surrounded by Sycophants' at CBS News
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Bari Weiss was brought in to rid CBS News of it's 'woke' leanings.
One CBS News insider complained that Weiss has surrounded herself only with "yes" men and women since coming aboard as president of the division. Zucker, being a major fan of the former Wall Street Journal opinion page writer, would do little to shake things up.
“She’s surrounded herself with sycophants, and it’s not helping her cause," the source blabbed.
Ellison has no problem with that, as he's convinced he made the right hire with Weiss.
"He has no issues with Bari. He thinks you've got to break glass and that the news media coming after her is crazy," the source said.
