What began as mild excitement among CBS News employees when Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of the news organization last October descended into chaos with the unceremonious firing of Scott Pelley, the program's longtime correspondent, on Tuesday. «60 Minutes» .
It's the latest crisis to engulf the editorial team, months after Weiss overhauled the flagship program. CBS Evening News , promoting morning show host Tony Dokoupil to the position of main anchor. Last week, Weiss fired a number of trusted correspondents and producers and hired journalist and filmmaker Nick Bilton as the program's executive producer. «60 minutes, a benchmark television news program that has won more than 150 Emmy Awards since its launch in 1968.
More from Rolling Stone
-
Scott Pelley accuses CBS of 'collapse of values' after firing '60 Minutes'.
-
Jimmy Kimmel urges viewers to turn off CBS after 'Colbert' ends: 'Never watch it again.'.
-
Jon Stewart congratulated Stephen Colbert on the end of 'Late Show': 'Don't confuse cancellation with failure.'.
Bilton's arrival immediately sparked internal resistance from Pelley, who clashed with his new boss at a heated general meeting on Monday. An enraged Pelley accused Weiss of "killing" the iconic Sunday night show and demanded an explanation from Bilton for why four senior colleagues were "brutally fired" on what he called "Black Thursday.".
A tantrum cost Pelley his job, Weiss said at a newsroom meeting on Wednesday. Weiss said, as reported by New York Times , the foundation of trust was shattered, and there was no turning back. "We didn't want this to happen, but he chose this path.".
However, Pelley has already responded to the allegations, claiming Weiss lied about the nature of their private conversation and, in a separate statement, claiming that management «instructed» him to «inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story» and «include unsubstantiated allegations.» (CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) Rolling Stone about the comment.)
After three longtime correspondents were fired in the last week, what will the updated edition of the program be like? «60 minutes, remains unclear. Here's what you need to know to stay up-to-date on what's going on behind the scenes:
Who is Bari Weiss?
Last year, David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, acquired Paramount in a massive merger and appointed Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. The decision immediately drew criticism, given Weiss's background.
Before her appointment, Weiss worked as a columnist in the New York Times, and then founded The Free Press , an independent media company that «focuses on stories that are ignored or distorted to suit an ideological narrative.» (As part of Weiss’s move to CBS News, Ellison acquired The Free Press for 150 million dollars.)
In January, Weiss shared her vision for the newsroom's future, emphasizing that modernizing CBS News's operating methods would be crucial to survival in the ever-changing media landscape. "Our strategy up until now has been to cling to the audience that still watches broadcast television," she said. "I'm here to tell you, if we continue with that strategy, we're screwed.".
What were the first signs of problems in the program? «60 Minutes» ?
The first signs of problems in the program «60 Minutes» appeared in December 2025 due to Weiss's decision to temporarily shelve a story about CECOT, the El Salvador prison where the Trump administration was sending hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants from Venezuela as part of an aggressive deportation policy carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi expressed concern internally that she believed Weiss had "squeezed" the article's publication at the last minute for political reasons. Weiss denied this claim, stating that the article wasn't "ready" yet and asked Alfonsi and her team to continue working on the story.
Although the story eventually aired in January, it marked the beginning of an ongoing feud between Alfonsi and Weiss.
What caused the latest scandal?
After months of speculation about whether Alfonsi's contract would be renewed, Weiss fired Alfonsi last Thursday, along with correspondent Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihajlovic, and producers Guy Campanile and Matthew Polevoy, effectively clearing out the program's leadership team.
Weiss appointed Nick Bilton as executive editor to replace Simon, calling him "one of the most enterprising journalists of our time." She added that Bilton shares the company's mission to revive the show, drawing on his "deep investigative experience and understanding of the technological moment we find ourselves in.".
At a team meeting on Monday morning, Bilton introduced himself to the team, attempting to quell rumors that he plans to turn the prestigious show into "60 one-minute episodes that will be like TikTok," according to New York Times .
The meeting went awry when Pelley, a journalist with 50 years of experience, began peppering Bilton with questions and accused Weiss of ruining the show's impeccable reputation.
«"She's ruining the program. «60 minutes »"," Pelley said. "She doesn't like this place. She was brought in to destroy it, and that's exactly what she's doing… She's not qualified for this job; this job requires only marginal qualifications. The changes she made to the« Evening News», were catastrophic, so why should we expect things to get better?»
Why Scott Pelley accused Nick Bilton of « insufficient » qualifications?
Bilton has little experience in television news programming, although he has worked as both a journalist and a producer. He has held positions as a technology columnist and freelance writer for a newspaper. New York Times и Vanity Fair magazine respectively.
In terms of film, Bilton filmed a documentary for Netflix in 2021. called "Fake Famous"« , and is also credited as a writer on the widely panned show by series creator Sam Levinson. «"Euphoria"» , on the HBO channel under the name «The Idol, which starred The Weeknd and Lily Rose Depp.
According to information on its website and Deadline publication , Bilton is also writing and producing a film and book about the "mafia in 1970s Hawaii" for director Martin Scorsese, starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
What did Scott Pelley say about his departure?
On Tuesday evening, Pelley released a statement acknowledging his departure, expressing gratitude for his time on the show, and highlighting the recent 9 percent increase in viewership. Pelley then launched a scathing attack on the new management of CBS News and Paramount.
«"Our network's new owner appears to be abandoning this narrative to curry favor with the Trump administration," he wrote. "The new management tasked me with inserting falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I was instructed to include unsubstantiated allegations... Finally, the new management's incompetence and unprofessionalism have caused enormous damage. In the case of one of my stories, the entire program was nearly taken off the air.".
On Wednesday morning, Pelley issued a new statement refuting Weiss's comments to the newsroom about the reasons for Pelley's dismissal. Weiss portrayed the closed-door meeting between her, Pelley, Bilton, and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski as contentious.
«"Despite our efforts to contact Scott Pelley and find a way to renew our collaboration, unfortunately we were unable to do so and therefore had to part ways," Weiss reportedly said.
However, Pelley claimed he was "ignored" during the brief 10-minute meeting, with no "constructive dialogue" taking place, after which he was escorted out the door. "These leaders will not earn the trust of their employees by lying," he said. "It goes against everything we stand for and demonstrates contempt for the work of journalists.".
Who else recently left 60 Minutes?
Last month, Anderson Cooper announced he was leaving the iconic show after 20 years. (Cooper had been a CNN anchor and a guest on the show.) «60 Minutes» .)
«Very few programs have been around as long as «60 Minutes» , and still maintain that quality," Cooper concluded. "Things can always evolve and change, and I think that's great, and everything should evolve and change, but I hope that the essence «60 Minutes» will always remain unchanged. I think that independence «60 Minutes» was critically important.".
Former executive producer of the program «60 Minutes» Bill Owens resigned voluntarily last April following the merger of Paramount and Skydance. In a speech Monday at the New York Press Club, Owens echoed Cooper's words and praised Pelley for his principled stance. "CBS News and «60 Minutes» »These are institutions, not places where partisans and ideologues should operate,” Owens said, according to Variety .
The Best of Rolling Stone
-
Every Super Bowl Halftime Performance Ranked Worst to Best.
-
United States of Marijuana
-
The gaming experience reaches a new level.
Subscribe to the RollingStone newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.