CBS News announced on Tuesday that it has fired veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, 68, citing a clash with new leadership. Pelley held the program’s senior investigative position for nearly three decades, beginning in 1989.
The dismissal followed a tense staff meeting the previous day in which Pelley accused CBS’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, of murdering the show and questioned Bilton’s experience. Pelley also targeted the network’s chief editor, Bari Weiss, saying she was brought in to undermine 60 Minutes. Weiss was not present at the meeting, but the event was captured on an audio recording brought to light by the Status website.
Bilton’s termination letter, obtained by The Associated Press, accused Pelley of a performative display of hostility that made the network doubt his willingness to contribute to the show’s future. Bilton, a technology journalist and filmmaker with no broadcast background, said Pelley had hijacked the initial staff session to disparage him.
In his public statement, Pelley warned that the program’s editorial DNA was eroding under Weiss’s leadership. He alleged that the new executive team expected him to inject falsehoods and bias into his reporting, although he did not supply concrete examples.
Pelley further criticized CBS owner David Ellison for seemingly prioritizing a favorable image with the Trump administration, calling the move apparent and a threat to the show’s reputation.
The firing came just five days after Weiss, a polarizing figure in the media, announced a new approach for 60 Minutes in a memo to staff. The memo, signed by Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, aimed to modernize the show, suggesting it could extend beyond a 60‑minute broadcast.
The program, which debuted in 1968, is known for hard‑hitting investigations and high‑profile interviews. Pelley himself spent 12 years as CBS’s chief White House correspondent under President Bill Clinton and anchored CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017.
CBS’s decision illustrates the broader tensions within the network’s news division, which wrestles with legacy practices and the demands of a rapidly changing media environment.
}
