Impolitic with John Heilemann Dylan Byers: Bari's New Perch & Kimmel's Curtain Call
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Oct 6, 2025 Dylan Byers, a media reporter and editor at Puck, joins to discuss significant shifts in the media landscape. He dives into Bari Weiss's new role as editor-in-chief at CBS News and what it means for the network’s future. Byers explores the implications of Jimmy Kimmel's return after his suspension and the lessons learned by media companies from his situation. The conversation also touches on Hollywood's anxiety over AI advancements with OpenAI's Sora 2 and the Washington Post’s attempts to reinvent its op-ed page under new leadership.
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Why Ellison Brought In Bari Weiss
- David Ellison bought into Barry Weiss to remake CBS News as a different, influence-driven asset rather than a pure profit center.
- He values cultural influence and political alignment as strategic reasons to keep and reshape a legacy news brand.
News Ownership Is Strategic, Not Just Profitable
- Owning a news network confers influence that wealthy owners prize even if the unit loses money.
- That influence can be useful for broader empire-building, like combining broadcast and cable assets (CBS + CNN).
From Outsider To Establishment: New Responsibilities
- Transitioning from outsider critic to institutional leader forces a change from contrarian attacks to constructive editorial choices.
- Weiss will need to propose what she stands for, not just what she opposes, once she becomes CBS News's editor-in-chief.