3 '60 Minutes' Veterans Stay After Firings, Warn CBS Against 'Dictatorship'

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 5

Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim said they will remain at "60 Minutes" for now, but told colleagues "newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships."
The warning came after Scott Pelley was fired this week, a day after he blasted new executive producer Nick Bilton and accused CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the program.
The trio said they were "deeply upset" by the recent ousters of producers Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents including Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, saying no explanation was given.
They said staying should not be read as support for the current power structure and vowed to leave if the show can no longer practice "independent, fearless journalism."
CBS has denied political interference, calling the dispute normal editorial back-and-forth as the 1968 newsmagazine faces one of its deepest internal crises.