DAVID BAUDER Media Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

Bari Weiss is the new editor-in-chief of CBS News after Paramount buys her website

October 6, 2025

Paramount is buying the successful news commentary website The Free Press and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News. The move, while anticipated, is a bold one for David Ellison, new corporate leader of Paramount and CBS. Weiss will report directly to Ellison and be responsible for shaping editorial priorities and driving innovation at CBS News. Ellison said he believes the majority of the country wants news that is balanced and fact-based, and he wants CBS to be their home. Some at CBS News have expressed worry that the move will be seen as friendly to President Donald Trump.

FILE - CNN CEO Tom Johnson talks about the network's retracted story about U.S. military use of nerve gas against Vietnam War defectors in his office at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta on July 6, 1998. Johnson said, "I regret that I let Ted (Turner) down. This is Ted's creation and I know he is disappointed." (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)

After accomplishments in politics, media, former CNN chief Tom Johnson makes mental health his cause

October 1, 2025

After a career as a presidential aide, publisher of two newspapers and CNN president, Tom Johnson has plenty of stories to swap. But Johnson says his primary purpose in writing the memoir “Driven” is to make sure that people know that depression is a treatable illness. It’s something Johnson has been through himself, sinking so low in his final years as publisher of the Los Angeles Times he considered suicide, and made sure there were no guns in his house. In his professional life, Johnson has worked for two of the most influential and complex individuals in public life — President Lyndon Johnson and CNN founder Ted Turner.

Oscar Villanueva holds a sign outside El Capitan Entertainment Centre, where the late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is staged, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Kimmel returns to late night with an emotional monologue but no apologies following suspension

September 24, 2025

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show following a nearly one-week suspension with an emotional monologue but without apologies. He said that he was never trying to make light of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death, and paid tribute to his widow Erika for publicly forgiving her husband’s assassin. But he thanked people who stood up for him and for free speech, even people like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who don’t like his comedy but defended his right to speak. Millions of people watched the climax of an episode that put him at odds with President Donald Trump’s supporters and tested the bounds of free speech.

A demonstrator holds a sign in response to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show outside of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to his late-night show after ABC lifts suspension

September 23, 2025

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is set to return to the air, with millions of people expected to watch to see how he addresses his nearly weeklong suspension. Another mystery is how many ABC affiliates will actually carry his return Tuesday. Kimmel’s suspension by ABC following remarks about the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech and President Donald Trump’s ability to police the words of journalists, commentators and even comics. The return reportedly came after negotiations between Kimmel and executives for ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney. ABC said Kimmel would return after the network had “thoughtful conversations” with the host.

FILE - Brendan Carr listens during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee hearing to examine the Federal Communications Commission on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 24, 2020. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via AP, File)

Kimmel’s future hangs in balance after ABC suspends his late-night show over Charlie Kirk comments

September 18, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel’s television future is hanging in the balance after ABC suspended his late-night show following the host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing. The comments prompted dozens of stations to say they wouldn’t air the show, a move that was cheered on by a top federal regulator. The veteran late-night comic made several remarks on Monday and Tuesday about the reaction to the conservative activist’s assassination, including saying that “many in MAGA land” were working to capitalize on Kirk’s killing. ABC has aired “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003. The network acted soon after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday.

FILE - Hudson Institute President & CEO Ken Weinstein speaks during the Herman Kahn Award Gala, Oct. 30, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

CBS News’ new ombudsman has background and duties that differ from the job’s traditional definition

September 9, 2025

CBS News has appointed an ombudsman to investigate consumer complaints, although Kenneth Weinstein’s background and duties are different from the way the job has traditionally been defined in journalism. Weinstein is a former think tank president who was appointed ambassador to Japan by President Donald Trump in 2020 but not confirmed. He has little background in journalism. Weinstein is a former chairman of the precursor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees government-run media organizations that Trump has sought to dismantle. CBS News parent Paramount agreed this summer to appoint an ombudsman to examine complaints of political bias, days before the FCC approved the company’s merger with Skydance.

FILE - Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy speaks during a dinner meeting with President Donald Trump and other business leaders on Aug. 7, 2018, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Fox News thrives two years after court settlement, but 2020 election coverage fight goes on

September 4, 2025

Fox News seemed to be dealt a crippling blow in a $787 million settlement of a libel lawsuit more than two years ago, but has instead thrived. Fox’s ratings are at a high when most television networks are sliding, including news rivals CNN and MSNBC, and Fox is the go-to source to distribute news for the new Trump administration. Yet court cases regarding coverage of the 2020 election aftermath involving outlets where Trump supporters gather are continuing. In its own recent settlement of a libel case, the conservative Newsmax network has learned that expressing regrets or apologizing doesn’t pay.

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by C-SPAN, the final vote count on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, in the Senate in Washington, D.C. (C-SPAN via AP)

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

September 3, 2025

C-SPAN’s three public affairs networks will be carried beginning this fall on YouTube TV and Hulu’s live television package, according to a deal announced on Wednesday. Cord-cutting has reduced the number of homes with access to the networks that have traditionally been carried on all cable and satellite systems. But the new streaming services with live TV packages hadn’t been carrying C-SPAN. Representatives in Congress who provide much of the Washington-based network’s programming passed a resolution urging parent companies Alphabet and Disney to include C-SPAN on their services. C-SPAN says the companies would pay the same fee charged to cable and satellite companies, roughly 87 cents per subscriber each year.

FILE - FOX Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo, right, arrives at the White House, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Defamation case against Fox News highlights role of its hosts in promoting 2020 election falsehoods

August 21, 2025

A $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News for its coverage after the 2020 presidential election focuses on the roles of hosts Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs in spreading false stories about fraud in Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump. New details about Fox’s coverage emerged in court papers filed in New York this week in a case brought by the Smartmatic election technology company. Pirro, now U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., and the other two hosts were most active in spreading conspiracy theories, even though most at Fox knew they were untrue, court records show. Fox has said it was covering the news and accuses Smartmatic of exaggerating claims.

Rough times for broadcast networks illustrate changing media landscape

July 15, 2025

Two milestones revealed this week illustrated the diminishing power of broadcast television in a new media world. Nielsen said Tuesday that the number of people who watched streaming services in June exceeded those who were watching broadcast and cable television. That’s only happened one time before — in May — but that was only by a fraction of a percentage point. The margin widened considerably in June, driven in large part by young people who got out of school and have more time to watch shows like “Ginny & Georgia” and “Squid Game” on Netflix. Fox News Channel last week eclipsed all of the broadcast networks in prime-time weeknight viewing for the third week in a row.

This photo combination shows Jon Stewart, left, posing for a photo outside the Department of Veterans Affairs, July 26, 2024, in Washington and Stephen Colbert being interviewed at The Vatican, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, Riccardo De Luca)

The Paramount comics, Colbert and Stewart, are sharp critics of the ’60 Minutes’ deal

July 15, 2025

Stephen Colbert returned from vacation loaded for bear. The CBS late-night comic referred to the settlement between his parent company, Paramount Global, and President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview as a “big, fat bribe.” The deal was made while Paramount is awaiting Trump administration approval of its sale to Skydance Media. Colbert’s comments on his show Monday came a week after Jon Stewart of Comedy Central, another Paramount-owned company

Jane Ferguson, founder of Noosphere, and Sebastian Walker, head of content, are photographed in the site's office, in New York, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Award-winning international correspondent launches a new journalism platform

July 2, 2025

Reporting in Somalia, Afghanistan and Syria was tough work for reporter Jane Ferguson. So is launching a new journalism platform from scratch. That’s Ferguson’s latest project — Noosphere, a subscription-based site for independent reporters looking for a place to showcase their work. Some are international reporters she knew from the field, but Ferguson also has signed on some domestic U.S. reporters, including former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza, formerly of CNN. Ferguson says founding the startup is a high pressure challenge, but that she’s “used to pressure in the field.”

The queens of collaboration in Lucius are finding themselves again musically

June 3, 2025

Singers Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe have worked with a roster of greats in the two decades they’ve been together — people like Harry Styles, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Jeff Tweedy and the Killers. They showed up for one of Joni Mitchell’s “Joni Jams” and performed one of Paul McCartney’s lesser-known songs for him. They played on tour in Roger Waters’ band. All those collaborations bring a danger, too, that they lose themselves and their own music in other people’s worlds. They self-produced and used the simple title “Lucius” for a new album, even though it’s their fourth disc, and say it feels like they’ve come home.

FILE - The CBS Broadcast Center is 0n 57th Street in New York City on April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Trump suffered ‘mental anguish’ from disputed CBS News interview with Harris, lawyer says

May 29, 2025

Donald Trump’s lawyer says that the president suffered “mental anguish” from CBS News’ editing of an interview last fall with his Democratic election opponent Kamala Harris. That argument was made in court papers opposing Paramount Global’s efforts to get Trump’s $40 billion lawsuit dismissed. Trump has claimed the interview was edited to make Harris look good, a contention that CBS and its parent company Paramount reject. Nevertheless, Paramount and Trump lawyers are engaged in settlement talks, which could lead to some trouble of its own. A press advocacy group that says it is a Paramount shareholder says it will sue if there is a settlement.

FILE - The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News building in Philadelphia is shown in a file photo from Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Fictional fiction: A newspaper’s summer book list recommends nonexistent books. Blame AI

May 21, 2025

There’s another artificial intelligence blunder impacting news organizations. The content distributor King Features said it was firing a writer who produced a recommended summer reading list that contains non-existent books. The writer admitted to using AI to help him on the story, and took full responsibility for the mistake. His feature was carried in special sections that were included during the past week in the Chicago Sun-Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspapers involved said they’re stripping the special section, titled “Heat Index,” from their digital editions and investigating to see whether it contained any other false material.

DAVID BAUDER Media Writer.