Scott Pelley Accuses Bari Weiss of “Murdering” 60 Minutes After 4 Firings
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 1
Scott Pelley Accuses Bari Weiss of “Murdering” 60 Minutes After 4 Firings
10 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 1
At a 10 a.m. staff meeting in Midtown Manhattan, Scott Pelley angrily told new executive producer Nick Bilton he had “slender” qualifications and accused CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” “60 Minutes.”
The confrontation came days after CBS fired executive producer Tanya Simon, her deputy, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega in a shake-up Pelley called “Black Thursday.”
Nick Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast-news background, tried to calm fears that he would remake the program, saying the journalism would remain intact and the show would stay “exactly like it is for now.”
The clash deepens months of tension between veteran “60 Minutes” journalists and Weiss, a former opinion journalist installed last year after David Ellison took control of Paramount in a multibillion-dollar merger.
When top journalists allege censorship, what does it mean for the future of network news?
Is CBS sacrificing its most trusted news brand for an unproven digital strategy?
Can the principles of legacy journalism survive the transition to TikTok and YouTube?
CBS News Shake-Up 2026: Weiss’s Leadership, Staff Firings, and the Struggle for "60 Minutes"
Overview
In May 2026, CBS News' '60 Minutes' faced major upheaval as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, appointed by Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison to bring balance to the network, led a wave of high-profile firings and controversial leadership changes. Key figures like Executive Producer Tanya Simon and Executive Editor Draggan Mihailovich were ousted, while correspondents such as Sharyn Alfonsi departed amid allegations of censorship and loss of editorial independence. These actions, part of Weiss’s broader efforts to reshape CBS News, sparked internal dissent and raised serious concerns about the future direction and integrity of '60 Minutes.'