Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of 'Murdering' '60 Minutes' [View all]
Source: New York Times
Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of 'Murdering' '60 Minutes'
In an explosive staff meeting, Mr. Pelley, a correspondent for the long-running Sunday news show, blasted Bari Weiss, the CBS editor in chief, and Nick Bilton, the show's new executive producer.
June 1, 2026 Updated 3:11 p.m. ET
Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News, and the show's longtime correspondent Scott Pelley.
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press; Charles Sykes/Invision, via Associated Press
CBS News faced a fresh wave of turmoil on Monday after Scott Pelley, the "60 Minutes" correspondent, laced into the show's newly hired executive producer during a staff meeting and accused Bari Weiss, the network's editor in chief, of "murdering" the longstanding Sunday news program. ... In an extraordinary exchange, Mr. Pelley, his newscaster's baritone sometimes shaking in anger, told Nick Bilton, the new executive producer, that he had "slender" qualifications for his new job and questioned the network's commitment to the future of the program, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.
The 10 a.m. gathering, held at the program's Midtown Manhattan headquarters, was intended as a formal introduction to Mr. Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker who was appointed last week as part of a major shake-up at "60 Minutes." CBS fired Tanya Simon, the previous executive producer, and her deputy, along with Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, two of the show's correspondents -- an event that Mr. Pelley referred to as "Black Thursday."
The meeting quickly turned tense -- not a surprise after months of strain between veteran journalists at "60 Minutes" and Ms. Weiss, an opinion journalist who was a longtime critic of legacy media institutions before she became the head of one last year. She was appointed by David Ellison, a tech scion who took control of CBS's parent company, Paramount, in a multibillion-dollar merger.
Mr. Bilton, who had never worked in traditional broadcast news, opened Monday's meeting by trying to assuage the anxieties of staff members who believed he might fundamentally change the decades-old DNA of the country's top-rated news program. ... "For me, the journalism is the journalism," Mr. Bilton said, according to the recording. "That is why I am here. That is why we are all here." He added: "The rumors people are spreading, that I'm going to turn the show into 60 one-minute episodes, that it's going to be like TikTok, that is not changing. The show is going to stay exactly like it is for now."
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Michael M. Grynbaum writes about the intersection of media, politics and culture. He has been a media correspondent at The Times since 2016.https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-m-grynbaum
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/business/media/cbs-60-minutes-scott-pelley-nick-bilton.html
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/scott-pelley-lashes-60-minutes-174433703.html?frsycsrp_catchall
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Scott Pelley Lashes Out at New '60 Minutes' Boss, but CBS News Wanted to Maintain Ties
Brian Steinberg
Mon, June 1, 2026 at 1:44 PM EDT
4 min read
The new head of "60 Minutes" found himself working against the clock in a Monday meeting with staff. ... CBS News had hoped to keep Scott Pelley and the remaining correspondents tied to "60 Minutes" on the show, according to a person familiar with CBS News, before reports emerged of a blistering verbal donnybrook between the long-time journalist and Nick Bilton, who was named last week to lead the venerable newsmagzine.
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In a meeting held Monday, Pelley lashed out at Bilton and current CBS News management, according to multiple press reports, alleging that Bari Weiss, the CBS News Editor in Chief who orchestrated an overhaul of the program last week, is "murdering '60 Minutes." Pelley also alleged that Weiss held "no qualifications for her job" and said Bilton that he has "slender qualifications for this job." ... The remarks were reported previously by Status, a newsletter that focuses on the media sector. CBS News declined to comment on reports of what Pelley said.
Bilton has suggested that he'd like the program to generate even more content. "The show is on the air one day, one night, one hour a week, and to me there is an incredible opportunity to take the show and do a lot of things with it," he told Variety last week. Bilton is replacing Tanya Simon, a longtime senior steward of the show and a daughter of one of its former correspondents, Bob Simon. Her deputy, Draggan Mihailovich, was also ousted, along with two of the show's correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Pelley also demanded to know why CBS News fired former Simon, Alfonsi and Vega, asking Bilton "why should we expect any of this is going to be any better?" Status reported that Bilton attempted to deflect the queries and wound up ending the meeting prematurely. Charles Forelle, a new CBS News senior editor, recently hired by Weiss from The Wall Street Journal, told Pelley several times he was being "rude," according to Status, which reported the remarks based on an audio transcript of the meeting it obtained.
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Marisa Kabas
@marisakabas.bsky.social
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Amazing addtl detail about Scott Pelley telling off Nick Bilton (via NY post)
“You wouldn’t do very well in a ’60 Minutes’ interview," Pelley said.
"Scott, I’m not intimidated by you,” a ticked-off Bilton said in response. “Enjoy the bagels,” Bilton added before getting up and leaving the room.
2:46 PM · Jun 1, 2026
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Amazing addtl detail about Scott Pelley telling off Nick Bilton (via NY post)
— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T18:46:30.781Z
“You wouldn’t do very well in a ’60 Minutes’ interview," Pelley said.
"Scott, I’m not intimidated by you,†a ticked-off Bilton said in response. “Enjoy the bagels,†Bilton added before getting up and leaving the room.
= new reply since forum marked as read