What Weiss said at the conference

Speaking at a conference organized by the tech publication the Information on Wednesday, Weiss addressed the ratings for the first time since taking the top newsroom job. The event did not offer press credentials.

"I could never build anything if I were focused on the precise number of people that happen to tune in to the second feature on," Weiss said. She described the program as doing "tremendously well". Asked about criticism of her tenure from inside and outside CBS News, Weiss said her strategy has been to "put the blinders on, tune out the noise and focus". "I'm not doing anything I'm doing for popularity's sake," she said.

How far the ratings have fallen

The show has not matched last season's average of 9.1 million viewers per episode. The most recent edition drew 5.64 million viewers, which Variety described as one of the smallest audiences for the program in years.

• •That episode was the lowest-rated sixth episode of the weekly show this century
• •The season's fourth episode had also achieved that mark
• •The 4 October edition drew an average of more than 10 million total viewers

The show's performance depends heavily on whether it is preceded by a highly watched NFL football game, and ratings have stayed low despite strong guest bookings and news-making segments.

The overhaul behind her tenure

In late May, Weiss overhauled the program, ousting its executive producer and parting ways with three top correspondents, including Scott Pelley.

Questions about CNN

The topic of CNN came up because parent company Skydance's recent merger with Warner Bros Discovery made Weiss the subject of an initial rumor as a potential leader of the network. Chief executive David Ellison instead opted to keep CNN chief executive Mark Thompson in place, for the time being.

Asked whether she might want to run CNN, Weiss was categorical. "I want to focus on doing CBS News, trust me. This is a big enough challenge," she said.