CBS News has endured some questionable headlines of late — its old owners’ embarrassing settlement of a lawsuit brought by President Trump; its new owners’ apparent determination to put Bari Weiss, an anti-woke commentator whom Puck’s Dylan Byers recently credited with a “broadly shit-kicking anti-establishment disposition,” in charge (and acquire her Free Press while they’re at it); a recent edict, following pressure from the Trump administration, that its Sunday show Face the Nation air interviews in full — and so the network was perhaps glad, yesterday morning, to be able to tout an exclusive: the Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett’s first TV interview since she was confirmed to the court five years ago next month.
the WORD Editor Gregg W. Morris
Other major outlets had tried and failed to land sit-downs with Barrett, who has a book out; she was apparently slated to appear on The Daily, the flagship New York Times podcast, only to cancel. In an era, however, when the prestige of linear TV is in question and the lines distinguishing it from other types of media are blurred, CBS did not land the first interview with Barrett, tout court, nor even the first of her book tour.
Indeed, that honor went to Weiss, who hosted Barrett for an event in New York last week. Ahead of time, the Free Press (which also published an excerpt from the book) said that Barrett’s “work on the bench reflects the kind of intellectual seriousness—and humility—we admire.”
Onstage, Barrett returned the compliment, describing herself, in perhaps the most predictable utterance of 2025 so far, as a “huge fan” of the outlet. With friends like these, who needs to kick the shit out of the establishment?
the WORD Editor Gregg W. Morris