"Weiss had recently arrived in Los Angeles from New York, a city she'd left behind in 2020 along with her job editing and writing for the New York Times' "Opinion" section. Although Weiss technically left of her own volition - blasting the paper for its "illiberal environment" in her publicly posted resignation letter - it felt as though she had been hounded out in the wake of the Tom Cotton op-ed fiasco, during which her boss, James Bennet, had been forced to step down amid a newsroom revolt."
"Grazer invited Weiss and her partner, the then- Times journalist Nellie Bowles, to his home, as well as some friends including Kotick, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav. Weiss knew Kraft only vaguely through Columbia Hillel and didn't recognize Zaslav at all. She had never met Kotick, who would become a key investor in the Free Press, the news and opinion site she and Bowles would launch on Substack in 2022."
Brian Grazer, on a 2021 bike trip in South America with figures including Barry Diller, Herbert Allen Jr., and Bobby Kotick, expressed frustration with "woke fever" and contemplated hosting a salon. Allen suggested contacting his son Herb Allen III, who recommended Bari Weiss. Weiss had moved to Los Angeles after leaving the New York Times in 2020, citing an "illiberal environment" and feeling pressured after the Tom Cotton op-ed controversy. Grazer invited Weiss and her partner Nellie Bowles to a gathering with powerful media and business figures. Weiss secured investors and launched the Free Press on Substack in 2022.
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