The Bari Weiss era at CBS News has seen some dramatic changes to the program's lineup. «60 Minutes» Scott Pelley, who had been sharply critical of the editor-in-chief, was recently fired. However, a new report indicates that some of the program's most dedicated staffers are expected to remain in place.
Variety reports that the trio announced their intention to stay at the news magazine in a memo on Friday (June 5), writing: "We have decided to stay.".
However, in their letter they also expressed disappointment with the current state of the program: «We had a difficult time deciding whether to stay in «"60 minutes". We remain deeply upset by the dismissal of Tanya and Draggan, strong leaders who were respected by all. As far as we know—since no explanation was ever given—they were fired for standing up for our values. «60 Minutes» and defended our independence and integrity. Newsrooms should not be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argumentation are how we have always worked in «60 minutes »"Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud and passionate defense of our materials.".
The news comes after a flurry of staff changes at the show, including the departure of executive producer Tanya Simon, editor-in-chief Draggan Mihajlovic, and the dismissal of Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Pelley.
Before Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim's announcement, there were questions about their futures on the show amid all the confusion—recent reports indicated that Stahl, at least, would be staying and had already begun filming the next season.
Weiss recently announced that Simon will be replaced by technology journalist and filmmaker Nick Bilton.
Pelley's dismissal came shortly after the longtime correspondent spoke out against personnel and policy changes that occurred during Weiss's tenure. Pelley reportedly voiced his concerns at a staff meeting on June 1, accusing Weiss of "killing" the show and claiming Bilton was "weakly qualified" for the job. Pelley was subsequently fired "for cause.".
Despite Pelley's firing and the questions about the program's future that arose from all the firings and personnel changes, Bilton reportedly had good feelings for the trio, who have now decided to stay with the team.
In a message to employees, he wrote: "Team, the last few days have been challenging and difficult. I know that. I've spent a lot of time talking with many of you, and especially consulting with Leslie, Bill, and John. We've talked about what makes «60 Minutes» "This is an exceptional project, about the traditions and legacy of the past, and about how you do the work that creates such meaningful content. We also talked about changes: new audiences, new platforms, and the new ways of storytelling that these new audiences require. We'll talk more about this in the coming weeks.".
«60 Minutes» , Sunday, 7/6c, CBS
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