General Discussion

douglas9

(5,513 posts) Sun Dec 14, 2025, 05:48 AM Dec 14

Big Advertisers Appear Wary of CBS News' Bari Weiss Town Hall Format

During a Saturday-night town hall led by Bari Weiss, the recently named editor in chief of CBS News, most of Madison Avenue sought an off-ramp.

The program featured an in-depth interview with Erika Kirk, the CEO of the conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA and the widow of Charlie Kirk, the group’s former leader. He was assassinated during one of the organization’s events at Utah Valley University, throwing a harsh spotlight on the political and cultural divides present in the U.S.

The event marked a new offering from CBS News. The organization does not typically host town halls or debates on trending issues or with newsmakers. And the choice of Weiss as moderator also raised eyebrows, because in most modern TV-news organizations, senior editorial executives remain off camera, rather than appearing in front of it.

More may be on the way. During the program, Weiss told viewers that “CBS is going to have many more conversations like this in the weeks and months ahead, so stay tuned. More town halls. More debates. More talking about the things that matter.” That would suggest CBS is planning to devote more hours to the programs.

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/advertisers-wary-cbs-news-bari-weiss-town-hall-1236608265/

13 replies

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Highlight:

Big Advertisers Appear Wary of CBS News' Bari Weiss Town Hall Format (Original Post) douglas9 Dec 14 OP

Obviously, generating profits from viewership is not their primary concern. Intractable Dec 14 #1

I wonder if we will get ACCURATE viewership records... n/t hlthe2b Dec 14 #2

Doubtful Rebl2 Dec 14 #10

the whole thing is just weird eShirl Dec 14 #3

Good malaise Dec 14 #4

Many viewers are possibly not sure who Erika Kirk is. Norbert Dec 14 #5

She wants to turn CBS into cable news newdeal2 Dec 14 #6

That was my first thought. NCDem47 Dec 14 #11

"Viewers of of the telecast on WCBS, the CBS flagship in New York, saw a commercial for Chia Pet." mahatmakanejeeves Dec 14 #7

Goodbye CBS spanone Dec 14 #8

Is CBS still a network? Johonny Dec 14 #9

I tried to watch just for the hell of it but Raine Dec 14 #12

Is there a way to find out local advertisers bdjhawk Dec 15 #13

Intractable

(1,634 posts)

1. Obviously, generating profits from viewership is not their primary concern.

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 05:57 AM

Dec 14

Spreading their messages is what they want.

hlthe2b

(112,812 posts)

2. I wonder if we will get ACCURATE viewership records... n/t

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 06:12 AM

Dec 14

Last edited Sun Dec 14, 2025, 12:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Rebl2

(17,402 posts)

10. Doubtful

Reply to hlthe2b (Reply #2)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 10:58 AM

Dec 14

eShirl

(20,080 posts)

3. the whole thing is just weird

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 06:17 AM

Dec 14

I don't think typical CBS viewers will be riveted to this content

malaise

(292,797 posts)

4. Good

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 06:32 AM

Dec 14

Rec

Norbert

(7,563 posts)

5. Many viewers are possibly not sure who Erika Kirk is.

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 07:30 AM

Dec 14

She is not Taylor Swift. She is not Reba McEntire. She is the widow of a blogger that may have not been on viewers radar screens even last spring.

Bari Weiss is taking a gamble that just is not going to work, and with American's opinions shifting away from Dozy Don and MAGA, people will tune out.

newdeal2

(4,778 posts)

6. She wants to turn CBS into cable news

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 08:38 AM

Dec 14

No objective fact-based reporting, just a constant stream of pundits and opinions.

NCDem47

(3,325 posts)

11. That was my first thought.

Reply to newdeal2 (Reply #6)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 11:04 AM

Dec 14

Trying to bring in some of that cable news/opinion juju to traditional network.

they don't want to spend money on scripted shows--or even reality, competition or game shows at this point. Because vieweship is down, down, down. eyeballs have gone elsewhere.

You know Weis thinks she has the secret formula to turn CBS News around. She has NO chance. She'll flame out as will all the nonsense she'll bring to the network.

I suspect these town halls are not really designd for initial ratings. They're designed to garner buzz about content pre- and post-airing and to serve as a source for clips to filter out over socials and the Internet.

mahatmakanejeeves

(68,222 posts)

7. "Viewers of of the telecast on WCBS, the CBS flagship in New York, saw a commercial for Chia Pet."

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 09:54 AM

Dec 14

Reposted by Mike Masnick
https://bsky.app/profile/mmasnick.bsky.social

Bill Grueskin
‪@bgrueskin.bsky.social‬

“Commercial breaks were largely filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets.

“Viewers of of the telecast on WCBS, the CBS flagship in New York, saw a commercial for Chia Pet, the terra-cotta figure that sprouts plant life after a few weeks.”

‪Brian Steinberg‬
‪@bristei.bsky.social‬
· 11h
Major advertisers appeared to sit out a new CBS News town hall telecast Saturday, moderated by Bari Weiss and featuring an interview with Erika Kirk.

Lack of Madison Avenue support could challenge the viability of the format, which Weiss wants to expand

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/advertisers-wary-cbs-news-bari-weiss-town-hall-1236608265/

Big Advertisers Appear Wary of CBS News’ Bari Weiss Town Hall Format
Many major advertisers appeared to sit out a new CBS News town hall format moderated by Bari Weiss and featuring a conversation with Erika Kirk
variety.com
10:22 PM · Dec 13, 2025

â€œCommercial breaks were largely filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets.

â€œViewers of of the telecast on WCBS, the CBS flagship in New York, saw a commercial for Chia Pet, the terra-cotta figure that sprouts plant life after a few weeks.â€
— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T03:22:22.923Z

Brian Steinberg
‪@bristei.bsky.social‬

Major advertisers appeared to sit out a new CBS News town hall telecast Saturday, moderated by Bari Weiss and featuring an interview with Erika Kirk.

Lack of Madison Avenue support could challenge the viability of the format, which Weiss wants to expand

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/advertisers-wary-cbs-news-bari-weiss-town-hall-1236608265/

Big Advertisers Appear Wary of CBS News’ Bari Weiss Town Hall Format
Many major advertisers appeared to sit out a new CBS News town hall format moderated by Bari Weiss and featuring a conversation with Erika Kirk
variety.com
10:01 PM · Dec 13, 2025

Major advertisers appeared to sit out a new CBS News town hall telecast Saturday, moderated by Bari Weiss and featuring an interview with Erika Kirk.

Lack of Madison Avenue support could challenge the viability of the format, which Weiss wants to expand

variety.com/2025/tv/news...
— Brian Steinberg (@bristei.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T03:01:54.992Z

Blake C. Stacey
‪@blakestacey.myatproto.social‬

"Moderated by Bari Weiss..."

"Who?"

"And featuring an interview with Erika Kirk."

"Who?"

Anyone who knows who these people are is either deep in a right-wing bubble and thus getting high on the real uncut stuff already, or on Bluesky.
10:47 PM · Dec 13, 2025

"Moderated by Bari Weiss..."

"Who?"

"And featuring an interview with Erika Kirk."

"Who?"

Anyone who knows who these people are is either deep in a right-wing bubble and thus getting high on the real uncut stuff already, or on Bluesky.
— Blake C. Stacey (@blakestacey.myatproto.social) 2025-12-14T03:47:48.861Z

spanone

(141,009 posts)

8. Goodbye CBS

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 09:56 AM

Dec 14

Johonny

(25,456 posts)

9. Is CBS still a network?

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 10:42 AM

Dec 14

Who would watch a grifter spout bullshit? Can't we interview actually interesting people in this country anymore?

Raine

(31,094 posts)

12. I tried to watch just for the hell of it but

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sun Dec 14, 2025, 06:44 PM

Dec 14

it was so bland and amateur I feel asleep. 🥱 😴

bdjhawk

(442 posts)

13. Is there a way to find out local advertisers

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Mon Dec 15, 2025, 01:57 AM

Dec 15

in various markets? The idea of the show makes me sick but now I wish I recorded it just to forward through to the ads. I’d love to know any local advertisers to avoid here in Chicago.

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