Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News as part of a deal to acquire the online news site she founded, The Free Press.

The companies did not disclose the deal value in Monday's announcement.

A source familiar with the matter said it was for $US150 million ($A227 million).

In an essay announcing the deal on Monday, Weiss, 41, said the deal provides "a chance to help reshape a storied media organisation - to help guide CBS News into a future that honours those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism".

The announcement capped months of talks between Ellison and Weiss.

The newly minted media baron first floated the idea at July's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, a frequent staging ground for major medi

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