Bari Weiss’s Latest Hire Has an N-Word Problem
CBS hires another controversial ‘anti-woke’ media figure as it continues its shift to the right. Plus: the shameless White House Correspondents’ Association prepares to host anti-press Donald Trump.
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s ‘Ragebait.’
Justin Baragona here, bringing you the latest media dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and Bari World. In tonight’s edition, we look at the controversial past of Bari Weiss’s latest hire – and what it says about the type of staff she’s looking to build at CBS News. Additionally, why is the White House Correspondents’ Association hosting the greatest threat to press freedom in America? Also, CNNers are feeling cautiously optimistic following the latest WarnerMount merger developments.
‘An Absolutely Uninspired Choice’
Shortly after CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss announced that she had hired Mike Pesca – the host of the long-running daily news podcast ‘The Gist’ – to be the network’s editorial director of podcasts, one of Pesca’s former colleagues chimed in with a biting observation.
“‘What experience qualifies you for this job?’ ‘Well at Slate I died on the hill of being able to say n—,’” The Ringer’s Joel Anderson tweeted on Friday. “‘Say no more. Your offer is on the way.’”
Indeed, Pesca and ‘The Gist’ were suspended indefinitely by Slate in February 2021 after he argued with his fellow colleagues that white people should be allowed to say the n-word in certain situations. He would ultimately part ways with Slate in September of that year while also purchasing the podcast – which he would continue to host until he ditched it to work for Weiss.
“I’m not surprised,” one CBS News insider told Zeteo about Weiss’s embrace of Pesca to lead the network’s budding podcast division.