Ever since David Ellison’s Paramount acquired CBS News last year — and installed Bari Weiss as editor in chief — the narrative, fairly or unfairly, has been that the network would be deferential to President Donald Trump and his administration.
After all, Ellison and his father, Larry, have a cozy relationship with the president, and many feel Weiss might try to push CBS News a little to the right.
But apparently CBS News has irked the White House by hiring Jeremy Adler, a communications executive who previously worked for former Rep. Liz Cheney. Yes, the same Liz Cheney who was a frequent critic of Trump and helped lead the Congressional committee that looked into the Jan. 6 insurrection and Trump’s role in it.
Adler will join CBS News’ communications team. This is according to Axios. CBS News has not made an official announcement.
A White House official told Axios’ Alex Isenstadt and Sara Fischer, “The idea CBS would hire Liz Cheney’s flack who has worked to jail President Trump and make it impossible for anybody who supported the president to get hired is insanity. What the hell is Bari Weiss thinking?”
Wow, that’s a strong statement.
The Daily Beast’s Josh Fiallo wrote, “The newest hire at CBS News has blown up the goodwill it has worked so hard to earn with the Trump administration.
To be clear, however, Adler does have deep ties to the Republican Party. After all, despite her battles with Trump, Cheney has always been a staunchly conservative Republican. Adler was her deputy chief of staff and senior communications adviser from 2019 to 2023.
Axios also notes that Adler “previously worked at the Republican super PAC America Rising and was a regional press secretary on now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.”
Yet, the Trump administration is clearly bothered. Axios broke the story and said, “White House officials are outraged” over the hiring.
CNN media reporter Brian Stelter tweeted the Axios story and wrote, “Notice that this leak — ‘White House officials are outraged…’ — is the first inkling about Jeremy Adler being hired by CBS News. The comms job is open and the network hasn’t appointed anyone yet. Adler’s name hasn’t even been floated publicly, until now.”
Stelter added, “This strongly suggests someone leaked Adler’s potential appointment to try to stop it from happening. Does the Trump White House think it can veto CBS News hires, now?”
Notable journalism on Iran
The war with Iran rages on. Here is some of the latest important work about it:
- The Washington Post’s Scott Clement, Eric Lau and Isabelle Gibson with “We asked 1,000 Americans if U.S. strikes on Iran should continue. Here’s what they said.”
- The New York Times’ Greg Jaffe with “How Hegseth Came to See Moral Purpose in War as Weakness.”
- The Atlantic’s Jonathan Lemire with “Trump Isn’t Even Trying to Sell This War.”
- The Associated Press’ Farnoush Amiri with “Damage to historical sites in Iran raises alarm about war’s impact on protected places.”
- Loreben Tuquero of Poynter’s PolitiFact with “Social media feeds are awash with Iran war misinformation. Here’s how to identify false imagery.”
It’s now official
Last month, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Tony Dungy was likely out as an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America” — the pregame show to “Sunday Night Football.”
On Thursday, it became official. Dungy announced on X that NBC informed him that he would not be back for his 18th season on the show. Dungy, a former NFL player and Hall of Fame coach who led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl title, wrote, in part, “It’s disappointing news but I want to thank my NBC family for making the last 17 years so special.”
The show, which leads into the most-watched program on TV, is expected to have a different look next season.
Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review
- The New York Times’ Erik Wemple with “A Call for Reporting Tips Rankles Pentagon Officials.”
- A new site from Yahoo collects trending news stories from across the internet and offers “a real-time snapshot of what the internet is talking about.” Called Yahoo Trends 100, the site uses AI to identify and surface topics that are popular, rising, feel-good or generate conversation, presenting them in a simple, old-school layout that recalls a more playful era of the web. “Rarely does a site or tool make me stop and say ‘wow’ and immediately share it,” said Poynter faculty member Tony Elkins. “This is very cool and feels like the web 10–15 years ago — and that’s a good thing.”
- The Wrap’s Corbin Bolies with “New York Times Newsroom Hits Record 2,300 Journalists.”
- President Donald Trump has nominated Sarah B. Rogers, the current State Department’s Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, to lead the U.S Agency for Global Media. This comes after a federal judge told the government it needed a succession plan for the company that runs various U.S.-funded media outlets, including Voice of America. Michael Rigas has been named acting CEO, and Kari Lake says she will remain deputy CEO. The Washington Post’s Scott Nover has more in “Trump names new head for VOA parent after court rebukes Kari Lake.”
- This story is getting a ton of buzz. The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins with “Sucker. My year as a degenerate gambler.”
- For The New York Times, Tracey Tully (and photographs by Jonah Markowitz) with “How a Driver in a Fatal Hit and Run Walked Free”
- The Academy Awards are Sunday night. Here’s The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan with “Oscars 2026 Predictions: Who Will Win Best Picture, Actor and Actress?” Conan O’Brien is this year’s host. The show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Hulu.
Here’s The Ringer’s Julianna Ress with “Oscar Predictions for an Unpredictable Year.” - And here’s one more. The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg and David Rooney with “Oscars 2026: Who Will Win Vs. Who Should Win.”
- Finally, a fun column from The Washington Post’s Monica Hesse about a new dating reality show: “He’s 27. She’s 54. Somehow ‘Age of Attraction’ thinks no one can tell.”
More resources for journalists
- Great Lakes journalists: Work on coverage strategies, gain reporting tools and spark regional connections in our free election coverage workshops. Monday is your deadline.
- Get the tools, mentorship and peer community to turn your non-fiction book idea into a publishable proposal. Apply for our workshop today.
- New editors: Get guidance from industry veterans and build the skills you need to become indispensable to your newsroom. Apply now.
- Audit your crime coverage, implement a sustainable newsroom policy and learn to do more meaningful work with fewer resources. Days left to apply.
- Reporters and editors with ambition to do investigative journalism: Get guidance from ProPublica’s Alexandra Zayas in this five-week, hands-on seminar. Enroll today.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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