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Weiss Coat Syndrome: Editor-in-Chief of CBS News Bari Weiss attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference at the Sun Valley Lodge on July 9, 2026, in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Welcome to the latest edition of Breaker. If this email has been forwarded, you can subscribe here and send your questions and complaints here. If you have a tip contact the 24/7 Breaker Tip Hotline via text or Signal # 551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonight’s edition, “60 Minutes” premiered its new season on Sunday, but viewers have voted with their remotes about the rebooted newsmagazine show, with a massive dip in the ratings. Tonight, a former top “60 Minutes” exec gives their thoughts about the latest chapter in Bari Weiss’ “Reign of Error.”
Also, scooplets about a star Financial Times journalist defecting for an unlikely new team, a well-known media reporter who has made a decision about their future that impacts the WSJ and CNBC, and an old name in media has resurfaced at The New York Times.
Plus, the last days of summer have seen a bevy of BBQs and book launches. We have scene reports from Ben Smith's Sunday backyard soirée, all the details on The New York Times 175th shindig this Thursday, and find out where you can catch Evan Gershkovich on his upcoming book tour.
Finally, love him or loathe him, nobody can deny Rupert Murdoch’s influence on the global media landscape, but at the ripe age of 95, what does the media world look like when Murdoch goes to the big newsroom in the sky? It’s a question Breaker will unpack at The Spectator’s “After Murdoch: The Next Age of News” alongside Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon. The event takes place on Wednesday, 28th of October, with tickets on sale now.
Mentioned tonight: Emma Tucker, Scott Havens, Evan Gershkovich, Matthew Rose, Ellen Pollock, Joe Kahn, Rebecca Blumenstein, Sam Dolnick, David Remnick, David Cho, A.G. Sulzberger, Brian Roberts, Adam Miller, Kate Snow, Laura Jarrett, Cesar Conde, Rachel Abrams, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Stephen Labaton, Bruce Orwall, David Enrich, Catherine Kim, Tom Namako, Steve Kornacki, Daniel Thomas, Joe Flint, Samuel Agini, Sara Fischer, Michael Grynbaum, David McCraw, Amanda Morgan, Nayeema Raza and Jodi Kantor, Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz, Antony Blinken, Evan Ryan, Josh Gottheimer, Michael Savage, Mike Vrabel, Michael McCarthy, Wendell Jamieson, Barbara Speed, Jack Thorne, David Brooks, Jeremy Barr, Joe Biden, Emily Kennard, Adam Baidawi, Tom Cruise, Will Welch, Arianna Huffington, Chloe Melas, Shalini Sharma, Tom Winter, Paul Ryan, Dan Slepian, Matt Frucci, Brian Cheung, Yasmin Vossoughian, Ellison Barber, Vivian Kim, Val Staab, Alan Paul, Li Yuan, Sapna Maheshwari, Joanna Lipman, Cindi Leive, Fred Ryan, Jonathan Swan, Radhika Jones, Peter Baker, Ben Smith, Liena Zagare, Amiel Stanek, Emily Sundberg, Jake Cohen, Charlotte Klein, Cliff Levy, Julie Dressner, Ed Lee, Meera Pattni, Ben Mullin, Katie Robertson, Claire Howorth, Mike Nizza, Liz Hoffman, Nicholas Confessore, Shelly Banjo, Steve Russolillo, Dennis Berman, Katie Rayford, Matthew Mittenthal, Jonathan Lemire, Carrie Melago, Peter Kafka, Lisa Dallos, Avi Zenilman, Clare Malone, Noreen Malone, Stephen Colbert, Callie Holtermann, Jess Golden, Mike Ozanian, Max Meyers, and more.
60 Slump
On Sunday morning, CBS News staffers received a memo from a triumvirate of leadership; the likes you would send following a big ratings win.
“Ahead of our premiere, we wanted to congratulate the team on the launch of what will be an exciting season—and to thank everyone across the CBS newsroom,” the memo that was signed by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, News President Tom Cibrowski and “60 Minutes” EP Nick Bilton read.
Tuesday afternoon we learned just how exciting the debut of “60 Minutes” had been for viewers. The show debuted with 7.9 million total viewers and under 1.6 million among the key 25-54 demo, marking it the lowest-rated premiere for the program in the 21st century, according to Nielsen data. Needless to say, Weiss’ “Reign of Error continues apace.
The ratings also show the season 59 premiere was the first this century to fall below nine million total viewers. Even more staggering is the fact that the much-promoted season opener managed to lose several million viewers from the lead-in NFL game.
The spin kings at CBS have, of course, claimed…
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⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.