The Free Press
The Free Press is an American media company founded by journalist Bari Weiss, who previously worked on the opinion desk at The New York Times. It began as a newsletter on Substack and grew into a newsroom featuring reporting, commentary, and podcasts.
What you can find
The Free Press regularly publishes about gender-affirming care for young people. Its best-known article appeared in February 2023: a statement by Jamie Reed, a former employee of the Transgender Center at Washington University’s pediatric hospital in St. Louis, about how the clinic operated.
Why it is on this list
Reed’s story prompted an investigation in the state of Missouri and attracted worldwide attention. The broader picture is covered under gender-affirming care in the United States. It is also disputed: parents and patients at the clinic challenged parts of her account in other media. The Free Press takes a clear position in the debate about young people and detransition.
Founding and growth
The Free Press began in January 2021 as a Substack newsletter called Common Sense, launched by Bari Weiss and Nellie Bowles. In 2022, it adopted its current name and grew into a full-fledged newsroom. By August 2021, the newsletter had 14,000 subscribers. In March 2022, Weiss raised between $1 million and $5 million in investment from, among others, Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Howard Schultz, and Bobby Kotick. In October 2025, The Free Press had more than 170,000 paying subscribers and 1.3 million free subscribers.
Acquisition by Paramount
On October 6, 2025, media conglomerate Paramount Skydance bought The Free Press for approximately $150 million. Weiss was simultaneously appointed editor in chief of CBS News, the news organization under which The Free Press has operated ever since. gendermedia.nl covers the dispute over language use in transgender coverage at CBS News under Weiss. This means it is no longer an independent publication but part of a major media company.
Editorial profile and other work
American media outlets describe The Free Press as mildly conservative and anti-woke. CNN wrote that the newsroom regularly takes aim at what it sees as excesses on the left. In December 2022, the company published articles about the Twitter Files after Elon Musk gave Weiss access to internal Twitter communications. In 2023, this was followed by the podcast The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, which attracted more than five million listeners. The profile of J.K. Rowling is also on this list; in 2026, she made headlines with a clarification about gender dysphoria in adults.
How to use and assess this source
The Free Press mixes original reporting with commentary. Reed’s statement is the testimony of a single person involved. Consider such an article alongside the findings of official investigations and the overviews under policies by country.