Bari Weiss’ Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture on “the way forward for journalism” at UCLA was canceled Tuesday amid scholar protests and on-line criticisms of the embattled CBS Information editor-in-chief’s Feb. 27 look.
The annual lecture, held in remembrance of the late journalist Daniel Pearl, might be rescheduled at an unspecified date, a person with information of the occasion informed TheWrap. Previous members embody journalists Jake Tapper, Christiane Amanpour and Bob Woodward.
Weiss’ lecture was met with unrest on the UCLA campus, with feminist peace group CodePink organizing a scholar motion to cancel the occasion again in January. Others on social media voiced concern that the college would platform Weiss to talk on the way forward for journalism as CBS Information rides out censorship allegations, high-profile workers departures and looming layoffs below her management.
CBS declined to touch upon the rescheduled lecture. UCLA didn’t instantly return TheWrap’s request for remark.
“That is shameful, particularly as a result of Weiss has just lately aligned herself with the Trump administration by making an attempt to cowl up the truth that ICE brokers are sending Venezuelan migrants to a torture heart in El Salvador,” CodePink wrote on their call-to-action web pagerelating to a “60 Minutes” section Weiss pulled late final yr earlier than finally airing it in January.
“She has a historical past of flagrant xenophobic remarks about Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs, and prides herself on her excessive views,” CodePink continued. “Weiss has created a profession writing opinions that maintain no journalistic integrity, which don’t mirror the values of the Daniel Pearl Lecture Sequence on the Burkle Middle.”
The editor-in-chief was additional lambasted as “a mouthpiece for the White Home.”
Weiss’ scheduled UCLA look additionally got here amid experiences of CBS Information’ anticipated layoffs this spring, that are anticipated to impression 15% of the workers.
As TheWrap beforehand reportedthe precise extent and timing of the cuts stay unclear, however they may come as early as March or as late as Could, and the plans stay fluid because the community aligns internally.
The cuts can be the second spherical of layoffs since David Ellison’s Skydance acquired CBS guardian Paramount final yr and let roughly 100 individuals go in October. They might, nonetheless, be the primary spherical absolutely overseen by Weiss as she works to revamp the community.
Weiss informed workers final month throughout an organization city corridor that she needed to make CBS Information “match for objective within the twenty first century,” and NPR reported that her plans embody worker cuts. After a staffer requested Weiss through the assembly whether or not her imaginative and prescient did embody extra cuts, Weiss mentioned she couldn‘t rule out workers adjustments as a part of the community’s transformation. Weiss additionally mentioned she didn’t “have a solution” when requested if the San Francisco bureau’s streaming unit would survive “in the long term,” based on Standing.
Since then, CBS Information has supplied voluntary buyouts to non-unionized “CBS Night Information” staffers. No less than 11 of the present’s roughly 40 staffers have taken the buyouts because the present pursues a brand new route below Weiss and anchor Tony Dokoupil.
