Woke-bashing of the week: CBS editor-in-chief turns to anti-woke UK journalists as a talent pool

If anyone needed further evidence that the anti-woke culture war has become one of the defining organising principles of parts of the English-speaking media, look no further than Bari Weiss’s growing reliance on British conservative journalists and commentators. Yes, it seems that Britain’s well-established anti-‘woke’ ecosystem is now being treated not merely as an inspiration, but as a talent pool.

Weiss resigned from The New York Times opinion section in 2020, claiming she had been driven out by an “illiberal environment” and bullying from colleagues. Her departure transformed her into one of the most prominent critics of what she describes as ideological conformity in mainstream journalism. She subsequently founded The Free Press, presenting it as a corrective to ‘media groupthink’ and a champion of open debate. In October 2025 she became editor in chief of CBS News, an appointment that has proved controversial.

Critics argue that The Free Press has merely replaced one perceived orthodoxy with another. As Haaretz writer Matt Johnson noted, Weiss correctly identified an audience frustrated with parts of the mainstream media. Yet rather than transcending the culture wars, The Free Press has built its success by offering what Johnson describes as “a more artful and less shrill version of the anti-woke alarmism that permeates the right-wing media ecosystem.”

That ideological project has a distinctly British flavour.

Among those reportedly brought into Weiss’s orbit are former Daily Mail investigative journalist Josh Boswell, broadcaster Trevor Phillips, and perhaps most predictably of all, Douglas Murray, who writes a weekly column for The Free Press. Former Spectator editor Oliver Wiseman has also become deputy editor of the publication.

The Guardian reports how Weiss has cultivated a network of British writers and commentators whom she believes challenge what she regards as a stifling liberal consensus, particularly on issues such as Israel, identity politics and transgender rights. Whether one sees that as broadening debate or importing Britain’s own highly polarised culture wars depends largely on perspective.

Douglas Murray’s appointment is especially telling. As associate editor of The Spectator, Murray has built his career on uncompromising attacks on multiculturalism, immigration and progressive politics. As Right Wing Watch has repeatedly reported, Murray holds no prisoners in his virulent attacks on those he possibly deems as a threat. An especially memorable target was Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland, who he suggested was an “infiltrator,” and described his Palestinian wife Nadia El-Nakla as a “nasty piece of work.”

Nor does the network end there. Weiss is reportedly close to Neil Blair, JK Rowling’s literary agent. It was The Free Press that produced the influential podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, which framed Rowling as a victim of ideological persecution. Her wider circle reportedly includes former Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove, now editor of The Spectator, as well as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

Then there’s Trevor Phillips. Once celebrated for his work on racial equality, Phillips has become one of Britain’s most divisive commentators on multiculturalism and immigration. He was suspended by Labour under Jeremy Corbyn, over alleged Islamophobia, once commenting that UK Muslims were “a nation within a nation.” He also famously caused controversy by stating that the UK was “sleepwalking towards segregation” and argued for a more homogeneous culture built on shared values. Although later readmitted to the party, his comments remain deeply contentious.

Collectively these appointments point towards the construction of a transatlantic network of media figures united less by a commitment to ideological diversity than by a shared opposition to what they characterise as “wokeness.”

As one anonymous CBS News staffer reportedly put it: “If [Weiss’s] goal is to push CBS News to the right, including in global coverage, then these steps make sense, because in no other universe would they.”

For someone who built her reputation railing against ‘newsroom groupthink,’ the irony is difficult to ignore.