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The Jay and Bari Show: United Talent Agency Vice Chairman Jay Sures and Bari Weiss embrace at the UTA White House Correspondents' Dinner pre-party at Osteria Mozza in Georgetown. (Photo by Caroline Gutman for The Washington Post via 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!
“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley unleashed a tirade at incoming executive producer Nick Bilton on Monday, and by Tuesday, EIC Bari Weiss was MIA from the morning editorial call. In tonight’s edition, we take a deep dive into Weiss’ “Reign of Error” at CBS News and reveal which correspondents may be out next and which Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Weiss and deputy EIC Charles Forelle are trying to coax to fill the gaping holes.
Plus, a Daily Mail staffer accused of sexual harassment is out of the office on paid leave while an investigation and lawsuit continue, The New York Times loses one of its seasoned journalists to the education system, and James and Kathryn Murdoch launch their next phase with a glitzy Hollywood shindig in their L.A. home.
Also, tonight, as you get into your Summer groove, Breaker has you covered with a comprehensive reading, listening, and watching list, making sure you don’t miss any media news when you log off on Friday afternoons.
Finally, Breaker is headed back to the mother country to give the keynote address at this year's Mumbrella Publish conference in Sydney in September. If you’re an Aussie subscriber and want to catch up for a can of Foster’s (Ed note: this is criminal) or throw a shrimp on the barbie, get in touch.
Mentioned tonight: David Ellison, Nick Bilton, Charles Forelle, Stephen A. Smith, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Kim Godwin, Adam Rubenstein, George Cheeks, James Murdoch, Kathryn Murdoch, Nellie Bowles, Lesley Stahl, Sam Dolnick, Rebecca Blumenstein, KC Sullivan, A.G. Sulzberger, David Gelles, Suzanne Scott, Almin Karamehmedovic, Barry Diller, Janine Gibson, Harvey Levin, Kristen Welker, Ben Fritz, John Jurgensen, Brooks Barnes, Kathryn Van Arendonk, Scott Nover, Michael Grade, Sapna Maheshwari, Susie Banikarim, Rachel Monroe, Makan Delrahim, Meg James, Michael Savage, Jay Caspian King, David Rhodes, Maxi Tani, Jimmy Kimmel, Linda Yaccarino, Blake Dodge, Mike Solana, Ben Smith, Jessica Toonkel, David Letterman, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Fallon, Sean Walsh, Ankur Jain, Matt Friend, Keith Tyson, Elisabeth Murdoch, Jason Blum, Jon Favreau, Andrew Huberman, Reggie Hudlin, Julia Boorstin, Ilene Chaiken, Juleanna Glover, Jessica Yellin, Abby Phillip, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Pablo Torre, Astead Herndon, Charlotte Klein, Aidan McLaughlin, Michael Grynbaum, Mariya Abedi, Sarah Stillman, Azmat Khan, Isaac Chotiner, Dylan Jones, Mohammed Hadi, Joe Plambeck, Kaitlan Collins, Bret Baier, Nestor Ramos, Richard Ellis, Daniel Jones, Marianne Garvey, and more.
Bari’s “Reign of Error”
(Exclusive.) On Tuesday’s CBS News 9 am editorial call, Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss was noticeably absent. This comes a day after “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley turned a staff meeting into a hostage recording starring new EP Nick Bilton and deputy Editor-in-Chief Charles Forelle.
The legendary correspondent took aim directly at Weiss: “She is murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” Pelley said. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Weiss has been in the top job a little over six months, but credit where credit is due. Her “Reign of Error” is starting to make former ABC News boss Kim Godwin look truly competent.
Weiss brought to CBS News her chaotic, disorganized, and dysfunctional management style that helped make The Free Press a $150 million Substack.
In Weiss’ mind, it's her against the world, and for her disciples, that attitude can be intoxicating. She has rescued her two deputies, former WSJ editor Forelle and former New York Times opinion editor Adam Rubenstein, out of the journalism wilderness. That elicits unquestioning loyalty.
But it's clear Weiss and the “masthead,” as Weiss calls it, wanted to make a “splash” with the Bilton hiring. Breaker has learned CBS CEO George Cheeks had advised against blowing up the respected, profitable, and highly rated “60 Minutes”.
But Weiss ignored Cheeks’ guidance. Move fast and break things. That’s how she built The Free Press. Surely that playbook would work at 60 Minutes?
Enter Bilton, whom Breaker has learned met Weiss on the Los Angeles dinner party scene. They hit it off and became socially close when she was living in the City of Angels with her partner, Nellie Bowles.
Bilton, who has eight – yes, count them eight agents at William Morris Endeavor and whose greatest claim to fame while at Vanity Fair was taking credit for a story he did not break, did a bang-up job winning over “60 Minutes” staff on Monday.
Responding to Pelley’s outburst, Bilton said, “I have been a journalist for 25 years, Scott. I’ve sat across from incredibly powerful people like you have, and none of it intimidates me. OK? So you are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people. I want that to be clear.”
Bilton will now need to recruit new correspondents to replace Anderson Cooper, the recently fired Cecilia Vega, and Sharyn Alfonsi.
And Bilton may soon need to fill more correspondent positions following a tense Tuesday meeting between Weiss, Bilton, and Pelley about his future on the show, according to people familiar with the situation. Pelley did not respond to multiple calls for comment. Meanwhile, Lesley Stahl is weighing up her future on the show.
So, who will replace the open correspondent positions? Breaker has learned Weiss and Forelle have held talks with former New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist …
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The Times Are A-Changing
(Exclusive.) It is a rarity for a well-liked and respected reporter to leave The New York Times. But a top reporter did just that earlier this week – to retrain as …
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The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
⁘ Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
The Breaker Pod with Matt Friend: The Future of Late Night, Political Comedy After Trump & Fox News vs CNN
In our season finale for The Breaker Pod, we were joined by comedian and impressionist Matt Friend, recorded from the stunning BILT Rooftop (Cheers to BILT CEO Ankur Jain and CCO Sean Walsh for having us down),
No stranger to the political forum, we covered everything from Donald Trump impressions to the decline of late-night TV, performing at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and impersonating King Charles to his face.
At just 27 years old, Friend, who now boasts more than six million followers on social media, already has some serious credentials. He interned at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon while in college and grew up idolizing Johnny Carson and David Letterman. With that said he believes that a new internet-first ecosystem has allowed creators to build audiences without actually ever appearing on network television.
Friend’s arsenal now includes 250 impressions of celebrities and politicians, and on more than one occasion, he’s even presented his impression directly to the person in question.
Friend even recalled doing an impression directly to King Charles last month during a surreal appearance at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington. “I’ve been studying your voice, and I’ve been trying to do an impersonation of you,” he remembered telling the King in the King’s voice — to which Charles replied, “Keep trying."
As for Friend’s Trump impression, it’s one of the best in the game. But unlike many political comics, Friend has zero interest in becoming ideologically boxed in.
“If you’re still in power, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” he concluded, I’m allowed to make fun of you.”
Catch more in this week's episode of The Breaker Pod. Make sure you check us out and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods.