60 Minutes in meltdown: four correspondents out as Scott Pelley fired after calling editor-in-chief's leadership 'murder'
A week of firings under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has left the iconic newsmagazine with just three full-time correspondents, and allegations of political interference are mounting.
Background
CBS News's 60 Minutes, the most-watched news program on television for over five decades, is in turmoil. Since Paramount Skydance took over and installed opinion journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief in October 2025, the newsroom has seen a wave of departures, firings and accusations of editorial interference. Weiss, the founder of anti-woke outlet The Free Press, brought in Nick Bilton, a journalist without broadcast management experience, as the show's new executive producer, replacing the internally respected Tanya Simon.
A week of departures
Within the past two weeks, three full-time correspondents — Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley — have been fired. Anderson Cooper, another correspondent and CNN anchor, had already announced in February that he was leaving the show. That leaves Lesley Stahl, 84, Bill Whitaker, 74, and Jon Wertheim as the remaining full-time correspondents of the original seven. Executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich were also dismissed.
- Bari Weiss appointed CBS News editor-in-chief
- Weiss pulls 60 Minutes segment on Salvadoran prison
- Segment airs after delay; Trump administration declined interviews
- Anderson Cooper announces he is leaving 60 Minutes
- Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Tanya Simon, and Draggan Mihailovich fired
- Scott Pelley confronts new EP Nick Bilton, says Weiss is 'murdering' the show
- Scott Pelley fired for cause
Pelley's confrontation and firing
The crisis peaked on Monday, June 1, when Pelley used a staff meeting — intended to introduce Bilton — to accuse Weiss of intentionally "murdering" the show.
He added that Bilton had "slender qualifications" for the job. Bilton later wrote in a termination letter that Pelley had "hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt." Pelley was fired for cause the next day.She is murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she's been doing exactly that.
Allegations of political interference
Several journalists allege that Weiss has compromised editorial independence to curry favor with the Trump administration. In December 2025, Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment about CECOT, a Salvadoran prison holding Venezuelan migrants, demanding additional reporting that would include a senior Trump official. The piece finally aired in January after the administration declined interviews. Sharyn Alfonsi, who hosted the segment, was among those later let go. Pelley stated that "new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story." Weiss and CBS News have not directly responded to these specific allegations.
Reaction from the industry
Steve Kroft, a retired 60 Minutes correspondent, called the situation "disastrous" and "journalistic interference," questioning why management would disrupt a show that was up 9% in viewership last year.
Meanwhile, CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil delivered an on-air tribute to Pelley, calling him "a journalist who valued truth at all costs." Inside CBS, staffers are openly weeping and uncertain about the show's future.Why would you mess with that?
What are they going to put on the air in three months?
