Bari Weiss faces scrutiny after slide swaps NBC and CBS in ratings chart

New CBS News chief Bari Weiss pledged to bolster public trust in a town-hall address Tuesday, but Page Six reported she displayed a slide that contained a glaring factual error: the lines for NBC and CBS were transposed on a ratings chart.

Page Six said Weiss showed colleagues a chart comparing the “Tiffany Network’s” ratings over roughly the last 30 years with rivals NBC and ABC; because the NBC and CBS lines were swapped, the slide made it look as if CBS had been locked in a decades‑long battle for news supremacy with ABC.

The mistake mattered in context: Page Six noted CBS is widely regarded in the business as synonymous with “third place,” while NBC and ABC have traded the No. 1 spot for years. CBS insiders told Page Six the slide was simply an error and that the network wasn’t trying to portray itself more favorably.

Page Six also reported an on‑air typo Tuesday night when a tease for a brain‑health segment read “Brian Boost.” An ABC source told the Daily Mail that ABC experienced dead air after two reports opened the broadcast due to a computer issue, and another source told Page Six the incidents sent the control room “into chaos.” A CBS insider quipped they’d rather have the typo any day.

A network executive told Page Six, “For a network that is touting the importance of accuracy and credibility, this was sloppy.” Page Six did not report whether Weiss or CBS issued further comment about the slide error.

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