Now owned by the newly formed Skydance, CBS News continues to be a major topic of discussion. More than a few media pundits have been critical of the direction the brand has taken under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. Skydance CEO David Ellison – who hired Weiss – has also experienced some blowback over the changes. Veteran newsman Dan Rather is now one of the latest to chime in, and he’s not mincing words while expressing disappointment in CBS’ leadership.
Rather worked at CBS News for 44 years, covering various moments in history like the Watergate scandal and 9/11 in various capacities. Known as one of the “Big Three” of nightly news anchors alongside Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw, Rather left behind a major legacy at the Eye Network. Much of that history is explored in his 2023 documentary, Rather, which is now being made available for free on YouTube. While promoting that wide release, the journalist also weighed in on the state of his former workplace:
What’s happened at CBS News is sad. It is in many ways a disaster, not just for the people who work at CBS News — and there’s still a lot of really good people working there. …. Donald Trump has expressed his extreme dislike for ‘60 Minutes.’ So now, he’s gotten his way. He cleared the way for a consolidation of corporate power, which in turn cleared the way for doing what’s been done to ’60 Minutes.’ The wreckage of CBS News is everywhere, and continues to this moment. I don’t see how to stop it.
The Big Interview star is referring to the recent finalization of the Paramount Skydance/Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which birthed Skydance. Ahead of that, there was also much discussion about the $16 million lawsuit Paramount settled with President Trump in 2025 over an interview 60 Minutes conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The business elements aside, Rather also spoke to Variety about his issues with Weiss, whom he’s now becoming familiar with:
You judge a person by what they do, and what she’s done is she’s quickly turned CBS News in the direction of being a version of Fox News, perhaps a little more palatable. But I didn’t know her beforehand, and I don’t know her now. Frankly, we didn’t hear much about her until she was rewarded with many millions of dollars for her company [‘The Free Press’], and then paid to come in and start destroying CBS News.
Since Ellison hired Weiss to run CBS’ news branch a year ago, her editorial decisions have been questioned. Weiss made headlines in December 2025 after she made the last-minute decision to pull a story about El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center. This past summer also saw Weiss receive blowback for firing various members of the 60 Minutes team like correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Series alum Scott Pelley was also fired after accusing Weiss of “murdering” the show. Rather defended those fired journalists:
Scott Pelley and Sharyn Alfonsi were two of the best television correspondents in the country, not just on ‘60 Minutes.’ Among the first things that the new ownership did was get rid of both of them. Pelley, who has had a long and very good career, you’ve got to admire his guts because somebody needed to stand up, speak out, and start challenging the power. And at a tremendous cost to themselves.
Amid the backlash over alleged news bias and interference, Weiss has been defended by some people. Current CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil spoke favorably of Weiss’ work and asserted that he hadn’t experienced any editorial meddling. One of the company’s newest hires, Sir Trevor Phillips, praised Weiss as well and expressed curiosity as to how the company might progress under her leadership.
When it comes to Skydance as a whole, the company is now in possession of some major news entities, with CNN now joining CBS News within its stable of content. Dan Rather didn’t mention CNN (which Bari Weiss will not run) during his recent interview or his thoughts on what its future might look like. As for CBS, it’s hard not to get the feeling that he’ll continue to watch how developments continue to unfold at his old stomping grounds.
