Nick Bilton , executive producer of the program «60 Minutes» , who took over CBS News in May, sent a "stern" memo to his entire staff, chastising them for a "constant stream of leaks" to the press, he said. Oliver Darcy from Status - after this note itself reached him.
Bilton's tenure began during an extremely turbulent period for the program. «60 Minutes» , When Bari Weiss , editor-in-chief, personally selected by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison , faced harsh criticism for interfering with stories, personnel changes, and the departure of long-time presenters such as Anderson Cooper , and other problems.
From the very beginning, Bilton came into conflict with the experienced presenter Scott Pelley during an "extremely tense" staff meeting. Soon after, Pelley was fired, and Bilton sent an email to all staff pledging to respect the program's "journalistic independence."« 60 minutes ».
«"The first week was absolutely terrible," Bilton joked at the end of the leaked email.
On Monday evening, the latest edition of Status' Darcy newsletter noted that Bilton was still plagued by leaks, reporting that the boss "welcomed staff back from their July holidays over the weekend with a stern memo warning them about leaks, a message that was naturally leaked to Status.".
The 734-word memo, addressed to all staff, began with thanks for their recent work and then moved on to "a few organizational comments," Darcy said.
Some of these changes were minor. Bilton announced he had moved to a smaller office, converted the old executive producer's office into a conference room, replaced the whiteboard storyboard with a digital one, and hired several new staff members.
After that, Darcy wrote, "Bilton moved on to a much more sensitive topic: the ongoing stream of leaks about 60 Minutes.".
Bilton's memo "made it clear he was frustrated by the ongoing speculation surrounding the show, as well as the flood of unauthorized information leaking to the press – and while he didn't specifically mention that publication, it's safe to assume he's not particularly happy when we have to inform his own staff about developments concerning their own program," Darcy noted, referring to his role in the story.
Darcy's report made no mention of any overt threats against leakers, but Bilton hinted at consequences by declaring his "patience" over the leaks had run out:
«"Since I've been here, there's been about one rumor every day," Bilton wrote. "About me, about you, about what's going to happen next—95 percent of them are made up and patently untrue.".
Bilton continued, in effect warning his staff: "I don't have the time or patience for them anymore, and I'd rather we spend that energy on articles.".
«"If you hear anything that interests you, come to me and ask, and I'll tell you what I know," Bilton added. "Otherwise, I'd like this place to be talked about because of what we show on television.".
Bilton's claim that "95 percent" of the leaks were false or "patently untrue" was questioned by Darcy, who wrote: "The vast majority of the 60 Minutes reports appear to have been accurate.".
Darcy argued that such leaks "are often a symptom of deeper problems within the organization" and "rarely resolved with strong reprimands," because employees who disclose internal company information to the press do so "when they believe management is not receptive to their concerns, is deviating from the organization's long-held values, or is not providing transparent communication about where the organization is headed.".
«"As any good reporter knows, memos complaining about leaks almost always lead to leaks themselves—as, naturally, this memo did," he noted.
The article, titled "60 Minutes executive producer scolds Stern for leaking memo that was eventually leaked to the press: Report," first appeared on Mediaite.