The Free Press

The Free Press was acquired by Paramount Skydance for $150 million in October 2025, in a deal that simultaneously installed its founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News — a broadcast newsroom with no prior connection to The Free Press. At the time of the deal, The Free Press was generating approximately $20 million in annual revenue, meaning Paramount paid roughly 7.5 times revenue, an unusually high multiple for a digital publication and a signal of the strategic premium Paramount placed on the brand and Weiss's editorial credibility.

The Free Press was founded by Bari Weiss in 2021, initially as Common Sense on Substack, and rebranded after growing its subscriber base significantly. The publication positions itself as independent journalism resistant to perceived ideological conformity in legacy media, focusing on US politics, culture, Foreign Policy and what it describes as under-covered stories. It had attracted backing from venture capital heavyweights Marc Andreessen and David Sacks before the Paramount acquisition.

The deal is significant for the media-AI story because Paramount Skydance's acquisition of The Free Press — a subscription digital media brand with a distinct editorial identity — follows the broader pattern of legacy broadcasters seeking to acquire audience-first digital properties as their traditional advertising and subscriber bases erode. Weiss's appointment at CBS News also raises structural questions about the boundary between subscription editorial and broadcast news.