Bari Weiss has made a lot of bad decisions since being put in charge of the news division at CBS. One of her most amusing was promoting Tony “Two-Cuts” Dokoupil to be the head newscaster for the evening news. It seems the primary motivation for promoting him was his love of Israel and Judaism — he earned his nickname because he was so devoted to his version of Judaism that, despite already being circumcised, he got a second circumcision because his rabbi said the first one wasn’t good enough.
That’s one of the defining characteristics of the Weiss regime: a fervent dedication to Zionism and Israel that she’s using to shape the news program.
Dokoupil is no Walter Cronkite, the anchorman I grew up listening to in the 60s and 70s. That era is definitely over now, and Weiss is accelerating its decline. The facts and figures are in, and CBS is in trouble.
CBS Evening News has struggled to gain a foothold since relaunching with new anchor Tony Dokoupil in January.
Ahead of the end of the first quarter later this week, the news program is on track for its lowest-rated first quarter this century, across both total viewers and the crucial 25-54 demographic, Status reports, citing preliminary Nielsen ratings. The program is currently averaging 4.3 million viewers; in the 25-54 demographic, ratings are down by 18 percent at just 541,000 viewers.
To make matters worse, the network’s morning show—of which Dokoupil, 45, used to be co-host—is also failing to attract viewers, with CBS Mornings experiencing its lowest-rated quarter on record, averaging 1.8 million total viewers, down from 13 percent in the same quarter last year.
The disastrous ratings are a blow to Weiss, 41, who was installed as editor-in-chief after billionaire nepo baby and Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison acquired her outlet, The Free Press, for $150 million in October. She had no experience in broadcast journalism and reports directly to Ellison.
You should never put billionaires in charge of anything — they’re all incompetent. Disastrous ratings don’t actually matter to Weiss. She got her $150 million. The network can go into a death spiral, but she got hers.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” another CBS insider said. “If they can’t retain an audience in the middle of a war, God help you when the war ends.”
Other industry insiders concurred, with a TV news veteran telling Status on Saturday, “The first rule of television medicine is do no harm—and Bari has done so much harm.”
Go anti-woke, go broke, but they’ll never figure that out because once you’re rich enough, consequences don’t matter anymore.
I tend to be excessively self-deprecating, but over and over I am sure that I could do a far better job than Bari Weiss, etc. These people generally have horrible values, but they are even less competent (while hilariously extolling the ‘virtues’ of self-reliance, merit, and thrift).
David Ellison is worse than an incompetent billionaire, he’s the scion of an incompetent billionaire. Daddy at least had the ability to exploit technology and markets to amass the billions, but Sonny didn’t have to bother with even that.
So it seems, but if we could only ask the Capets…
“averaging 1.8 million total viewers, down from 13 percent in the same quarter last year.” Is that English?
I don’t think they care if they run their Mainstream Medias into the ground.
In fact, that might be the plan.
The Ellison’s are trying to turn CBS into Fox NoNews.
Why bother making another clone of Fox NoNews. One is enough.
Elon Musk wrecked Twitter.
He doesn’t care. It is one of the few social media sites that won’t ban him for being a white racist nazi.
Bezos destroyed the Washington Post.
He doesn’t care either.
I get most of my news these days from independent up and coming media companies.
There are many of them and they are often on Bluesky.
I just skip over CBS, X, Fox NoNews, and the Washington Post.
How…how EXACTLY does one get a SECOND circumcision…?
…you know what, on second thought, don’t tell me because I DON’T WANT TO FUCKING KNOW…!!
I think Weiss is doing exactly as planned.
1. Zionism based propaganda is the goal
2. Destroying the profitability and viewership takes out an independent voice and makes it easier to change it into a propaganda arm.
Twitter used to be a method for groups to organize resistance to authoritarian control. The investors that helped Elon take down Twitter were rich folks from the middle East. They are happy with the outcome.
Autobot Silverwynde @ 5:
… and be wary of salty dogs who say that they don’t like the cut of your jib.
Bari Weiss and the Paramount takeover of Warner Bros resulted in my canceling of both Paramount+ and HBO Max. Told them so on the exit prompt. Hopefully more people do this. The only things I’ll miss on Paramount+ are Dexter and South Park. I have a few months left on HBO Max so will be able to finish this season of The Pitt. CBS/Paramount is dead to me.
If I want to roll my eyes at uncritical Zionistic chearleading I’ll hate-read Coyne’s pathetic blog, where he’s recently asking how to unsubscribe from Andrew Sullivan’s site since Sullivan is way too critical of Israel for him. Can’t have that going on. WEIT has become an Iran war cheering squad.
I was only vaguely aware that CBS still had news programs.
They’ve also become certified trump fart huffers, taking orders on what can and can’t be aired. They dead to me.
Also, why was his rabbi in a position to criticize his dick?
The journalist John Pilger predicted forty years ago that the likes of Rupert Murdoch would continue to strangle free media. Nearly the major newspapers i Australia and New Zealand were gobbled up by Murdoch a generation ago.
Fortunately, we have seen the rise of alternatives to the legacy media.
.
Going off on a tangent, here is a collection of skeptic-related news.
“Skepticrat 267 Quantum Foreign Entanglement Edition”
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=XC3_ukCWphY
“David Ellison is worse than an incompetent billionaire, he’s the scion of an incompetent billionaire.”
Affluenza causes a terrible symptom of severe brain-damage, but the mortality rate is unfortunately FAR too low.
@2. robro : So it seems, but if we could only ask the Capets…
That include Marie Antoinette?
What. The . Actual. Fuck? Seriously!? What. The . Actual. Fuck?
Also this :
So much that.
FWIW . See :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Dokoupil
Althouigh its not that informative really. Also married to Katy Tur? Read her book on the Trump election of 2016 a year or two ago and that really surprises me that’d she’d choose him. Thought better of her.
If you’re uncircumcised and you convert to Judaism under any mainstream program, you’ll have to be circumcised. If you’re already circumcised, you have to undergo a kind of symbolic circumcision that fulfills the ritual requirement of the circumcision — usually, a drop or two of blood is drawn from the penis. This fulfills the religious requirement (as opposed to the purely medical requirement) of circumcision. It’s not really a “second circumcision.”
sinuousrills, did you read the adduced citation?
I think you did not.
[BTW, only phimosis and suchlike pathologies merit circumcision, medically-speaking; the cost is knob sensitivity, of course. Foreskin is well-serviced with nerves, too. So no such routine “requirement” exists]
I did; Hatafat Dam Brit is what I’m describing in the above post.
StevoR @ #14 — The Window Capet was part of the clan through marriage, so yes, I would think so.
It does if you’re converting to Judaism.
Ahem: “This fulfills the religious requirement (as opposed to the purely medical requirement) of circumcision.” was your claim, wherein you yourself distinguish between the religious requirement and the medical requirement.
“only phimosis and suchlike pathologies merit circumcision, medically-speaking” was my claim.
Clearly, routine for Judaism, but not routine medically-speaking.
As I noted many years ago, not being mutilated myself, no way I’d ‘convert’ if I had to have my penis mutilated. See, the foreskin protects the tender and vulnerable glans.
(Us unmutilated people don’t get the technical prick on the prick)
It’s beyond me why anyone would circumcise their kid unless they were Jewish or of some other group for whom circumcision is customary for cultural or religious reasons. But, in Judaism, it is required.
Congratulations on your penis; I’m glad you’re so pleased with it.
“Congratulations on your penis; I’m glad you’re so pleased with it.”
Congrats on your own unmutilated bits.
Doubtless you are very pleased with them too. ;)
Point being, “This fulfills the religious requirement (as opposed to the purely medical requirement) of circumcision.” suggests it’s a medical requirement as well as a religious one.
The two are not on a par.
sinuousrills @23:
“It’s beyond me why anyone would circumcise their kid unless they were Jewish or of some other group for whom circumcision is customary for cultural or religious reasons. But, in Judaism, it is required.”
Decades ago I was in a technical group that included a Jewish engineer (not that I cared), whom I would regard as being above average in intelligence. At one point he was expressing some concern about his newborn son having to undergo a circumcision, so I simply said “then don’t have it done”. He looked at me in abject HORROR, like I had just suggested that he murder his entire family. His absolutely brain-dead reply was “IT’S RELIGIOUS LAW!” (near shouting). Needless to say, my opinion of him swiftly changed af that interaction. Religion MAKES people amazingly stupid, by getting them to reject critical reasoning in favor of an unshakable conviction that some bizarre fantasy is “real”. If they believe the fantasy they get to live forever, and if they don’t then they get tortored forever. Reality is simply too frightening to comprehend for these fanatics.
“… changed af that …” ==> “… changed after that …”
Jews as a whole have very vague beliefs about the whole ‘living forever’ thing, and it isn’t a major aspect of theology. But Jews, whether beliers or not, tend to have strong feelings about some common customs that they see as markers of identity, especially those that at various times and places were forbidden by authorities. Even many of those who don’t believe the Laws were handed down to Moses on Sinai tend to feel that if generations of Jews followed a certain custom they should do so too. Among secular Israeli Jews having a mezuzah by one’s door and circumcising one’s sons are among the top in adherence.
beliers should have been believers.
anat @28
“beliers should have been believers”
That is probably true.
@16. sinuousrills : ” If you’re already circumcised, you have to undergo a kind of symbolic circumcision that fulfills the ritual requirement of the circumcision — usually, a drop or two of blood is drawn from the penis. “
Ah. Okay, that sounds a lot more reasonable and makes sense – at least in terms of religious symbolism. Something new learnt today, thanks.
@15. ” …Katy Tur? Read her book on the Trump election of 2016
Specifically :
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Tur#Trump_campaign_correspondent
Would recommend.
StevoR, so you do not recommend the book. I take it that’s because you haven’t read it.
@ ^ John Morales : Huh? The exact reverse is true. I do recoomend the book.
@zetopan
Decades ago I was in a technical group that included a Jewish engineer (not that I cared), whom I would regard as being above average in intelligence. At one point he was expressing some concern about his newborn son having to undergo a circumcision, so I simply said “then don’t have it done”. He looked at me in abject HORROR, like I had just suggested that he murder his entire family. His absolutely brain-dead reply was “IT’S RELIGIOUS LAW!” (near shouting). Needless to say, my opinion of him swiftly changed af that interaction. Religion MAKES people amazingly stupid, by getting them to reject critical reasoning in favor of an unshakable conviction that some bizarre fantasy is “real”. If they believe the fantasy they get to live forever, and if they don’t then they get tortored forever. Reality is simply too frightening to comprehend for these fanatics.
I can see this exchange made quite an impression on you.
A belief in being “tortored forever” after death is not mainstream in Judaism. Judaism is different from Christianity.
Circumcision used to be a common medical procedure in much of Canada and the US for supposed hygiene reasons. At one point it was as high as 60 percent in some Canadian provinces, but the rate has declined heavily, with only somewhere between 25 and 35 percent of Canadian boys having the procedure. It’s considered an elective procedure in most cases, so not covered by health care.
I’m a 72 year-old gentile. I was circumcised and so were nearly all the boys I knew. And I can’t think of any Jewish males I knew until college. I was in my late teens before I saw an uncircumcised penis, and I think that may have been in a porno movie.
Young boy calling to tell his uncle he was circumcised today.
During the conversation, the phone line goes dead.
The operator comes on the line says: ‘I’m sorry, you’ve been cut off’
The boy replies: ‘Yes, but why would that effect my hearing’
There’s a related reason for it (still religion-adjacent): The masturbation taboo and the rise of routine male circumcision: a review of the historiography
Pullquote:
—
Jewish version is akin to similar anthropological practices such as scarification or tribal tattooing, because circumcision creates a permanent physical change that cannot be easily undone or “faked”. Simple, really.
I have also seen it as ‘Go fasc, loose cash’