The Town with Matthew Belloni
The Town with Matthew Belloni
The Ringer
David Ellison’s $150M Bet on Bari Weiss and a New-Look CBS News
32 minutes Posted Oct 7, 2025 at 10:04 pm.
Matt is joined by Semafor cofounder Ben Smith to discuss what to expect from CBS News in the David Ellison and Bari Weiss era. Ellison, the new owner of Paramount, has tasked 41-year-old Weiss to run its news division and also acquired her company The Free Press for $150 million. Matt and Ben talk about why David Ellison brought Weiss in, how she could influence CBS News, and what power a broadcast news brand even has in 2025
Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Tron: Ares’
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Show notes
Matt is joined by Semafor cofounder Ben Smith to discuss what to expect from CBS News in the David Ellison and Bari Weiss era. Ellison, the new owner of Paramount, has tasked 41-year-old Weiss to run its news division and also acquired her company The Free Press for $150 million. Matt and Ben talk about why David Ellison brought Weiss in, how she could influence CBS News, and what power a broadcast news brand even has in 2025 (03:32). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Tron: Ares’ (25:54).
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Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Ben Smith
Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices