A Saturday night town hall featuring Erika Kirk and moderated by CBS News’ new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has raised some concerns for industry advertisers about the network’s new direction.
The special featuring the widow of Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk was framed as a “conversation” about political violence and antisemitism.
The discussion repeatedly invoked Christian faith, spiritual revival, and moral decline, language that went largely uncontextualized or unchallenged despite the program’s CBS News branding.
Weiss, as editor and moderator, refused to challenge the conversation’s faith-based ideology, highlighting the lack of credible journalism.
Erika Kirk even refused to condemn violent rhetoric coming from Donald Trump, and instead blamed family degradation.
As a result, advertisers appear wary of association with this divisive type of format, as Weiss has promised “many more conversations like this in the weeks and months ahead.”
During the town hall hour, commercial breaks were filled with advertisers such as dietary supplement SuperBeets, CarFax — a supplier of used car data, and Chia Pets.
Other sponsors were conservative, including the Heritage Foundation; Hallow, a mobile app for Christian prayer; “David,” a new animated film from Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based content; and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.