On Monday, June 1, news began to leak out of CBS News headquarters in Manhattan that the program's longtime correspondent «60 Minutes» Scott Pelley has sharply criticized the network's management for what he says are inadequate qualifications, "disastrous" management of the 58-year-old program, and the firing of capable journalists, apparently for political purposes.
On the evening of Tuesday, June 2, Pelley was fired. This seasoned journalist had been reporting for the channel's flagship news program for nearly a quarter of a century.
"60 Minutes" correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, L. Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega, and Anderson Cooper in 2023. Photo: Jai Lennard/CBS News via Getty
At a staff meeting on Monday, Pelley reportedly told the program's newly appointed executive producer «60 Minutes» Nick Bilton says Bari Weiss, who was appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News last year, is "killing „60 minutes “"," adding: "She doesn't like this place, she was invited to destroy it, and that's exactly what she's doing," he writes. The New York Times .
Weiss, a former journalist and columnist NYT , who founded a media startup The Free Press , took over CBS News after the merger of CBS parent company Paramount with Skydance Media, prompting CEO David Ellison, a billionaire and ally of President Donald Trump, to seek a new direction for his new projects.
Paramount's Skydance is now seeking a $111 billion merger with CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery, raising concerns about a similar purge at the same company.
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss interviews Erica Kirk in a special broadcast that aired December 13. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS News via Getty.
Pelley's dismissal in early June was far from the first significant departure of staff from the renowned news network under Weiss's leadership. Here's a list of key figures who have left or been fired from CBS News and 60 Minutes since the new leadership came to power.
01 of 13
Scott Pelley
Scott Pelley. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS News via Getty.
Scott Pelley became the latest victim of Weiss' reign, being fired by her and Nick Bilton, the new executive producer. 60 Minutes program »", in June 2026 after accusing Weiss of "murder" 60-minute programs »" and told staff at a meeting that Bilton, a technology journalist, "has scant qualifications for the job.".
In a scathing statement obtained by PEOPLE after his firing, Pelley accused CBS executives of trying to "curry favor with the Trump administration.".
Bilton wrote a resignation letter accusing the 37-year CBS News veteran of "ostentatious hostility" and "lack of interest in the show's future success.".
On the topic: Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes program »" sharply criticized the new leader for allegedly kowtowing to Trump in a damning statement after his dismissal.
02 of 13
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper attended the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2026 presentation at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 13. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Warner Bros. Discovery
Anderson Cooper, a longtime CNN anchor, worked as a correspondent for the program for nearly 20 years. «60 Minutes» .
In May 2026, Cooper said goodbye to the program, citing a desire to spend more time with his young children.
«I think that the independence of the program «60 Minutes» "played a decisive role," Cooper said in the segment. «"60 Minutes Extra Edition"» from 17 May , which served as his farewell. "And I think the trust the program has earned with viewers is crucial to its success.".
On the topic: Anderson Cooper celebrated his final 60 minutes After 20 years, he gave an emotional farewell speech: "I will miss this.".
03 of 13
Sharyn Alfonsi
Sharyn Alfonsi. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS via Getty.
Sharyn Alfonsi was forced to leave the program «60 Minutes» in May 2026 after a months-long struggle with Weiss and the leadership CBS , which began with the temporary suspension of her report on El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, where the Trump administration deported immigrants.
CBS News has allowed its anchor's nine-year contract to expire. «60 Minutes» , and Alfonsi placed all the blame on Weiss, calling the decision to suspend her "a chilling signal for the entire editorial staff.".
«"I think it was a deliberate move to punish a journalist for refusing to filter reliable reports," Alfonsi said. The New York Times newspaper .
At the time Alfonsi's CECOT story was delayed, Weiss defended her decision, stating in a statement: "Delaying the publication of stories that are not ready for whatever reason—for example, because they lack context or important opinions—happens every day in every newsroom.".
On the topic: Long-time correspondent of the program «60 Minutes» admitted she could be fired for speaking out against Bari Weiss's "corporate interference.".
04 of 13
Cecilia Vega
Cecilia Vega at the 2026 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., April 25. Photo: Christina Bumfrey/Variety via Getty
On the same day that Alfonsi's contract expired, the program's longtime correspondent «60 Minutes» Cecilia Vega, the show's first Latina correspondent, wrote on Instagram that she was "fired," despite her contract not expiring until March 2027.
«"Let's call a spade a spade: censorship, both imposed and self-initiated," Vega wrote. "It's dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy.".
See also: Shocking changes in the program «60 Minutes» : Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi have been fired as executive producers and replaced by others.
05 of 13
Tanya Simon
Tanya Simon, former executive producer of "60 Minutes." Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS News via Getty.
In May 2026, Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski fired the program's executive producer. «60 Minutes» Tania Simon, as well as Alfonsi and Vega. Simon took over after Bill Owens resigned as executive producer a year earlier due to changing editorial priorities at Paramount. She was replaced by Bilton, a sequence of events that quickly led to Pelley's acrimonious departure.
Simon is the daughter of the program's legendary longtime correspondent «60 Minutes» Bob Simon, who died in 2015.
06 of 13
Scott McFarlane
Scott McFarlane, former CBS News correspondent. Photo: TJ Kirkpatrick/CBS via Getty
CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane left the network in March 2026 to join a liberal outlet. MeidasTouch, writing: "This is my decision and I thank CBS management for their understanding.".
Related: Scott MacFarlane is leaving CBS as justice correspondent amid a staff shakeup at the network.
07 of 13
Mary Walsh
Mary Walsh attended the 47th annual News Emmy Awards at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 27. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty
After 46 years with the network, veteran producer Mary Walsh left CBS News in February 2026. She accused the network's management of a biased political approach to newsroom coverage.
«"We've been reading a lot of farewell letters lately, and here I am. It's too soon, even after 46 years," Walsh wrote in a memo to colleagues, according to The Guardian . «"But perhaps it's for the best. We've been told to target our reporting at a certain part of the political spectrum. Frankly, I don't know how to do that.".
08 of 13
John Dickerson
Stephen Colbert and John Dickerson on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on May 20. Photo: Scott Kowalczyk/CBS via Getty
After 16 years, John Dickerson left CBS News at the end of 2025, ending his career at the network as a co-anchor of the program CBS Evening News together with Maurice Dubois, after working as a program presenter Face the Nation и CBS Mornings , as well as participation in the program 60 Minutes .
In July 2025, Dickerson spoke out against CBS's settlement of a lawsuit with Trump over the editing of Vice President Kamala Harris's interview for the program. «60 Minutes» in 2024. The settlement came as Paramount was seeking Trump administration approval for its merger with Ellison's Skydance.
Related: John Dickerson of the CBS Evening News is leaving the network after 16 years amid a controversial merger with Paramount.
09 of 13
Maurice Dubois
John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois report for the CBS Evening News on September 29, 2025. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS News via Getty.
Maurice Dubois also left the program CBS Evening News along with Dickerson. After the 2024 election, the duo took over the program from Norah O'Donnell, and Tony Dokoupil took their place.
«"A total of 21 years, including my time at WCBS in New York City. What a privilege! I'm thrilled to be in your homes every night, reporting the news, meeting extraordinary people, and sharing their stories," DuBois wrote on Instagram in December 2025. "A few weeks to go; until then, see you on the CBS Evening News every night at 6:30 p.m.".
On the topic: Maurice Dubois leaves CBS Evening News program weeks after his co-host John Dickerson announced his departure.
10 of 13
Lisa Ling
Lisa Ling on May 9 in Los Angeles. Photo: Presley Ann/Getty for Gold House
Former co-host of the program The View Lisa Ling, who joined CBS as a freelancer in 2023, was fired in October 2025. She wrote on Instagram that she was "among a wave of layoffs at the network." According to Los Angeles Times , At that time, more than 1,000 employees were laid off.
Related: CBS News' Lisa Ling has broken her silence on her firing following a major staff shakeup affecting the network's top staff.
11 of 13
Michelle Miller
Former CBS Saturday Morning anchor Michelle Miller. Photo: Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty.
Together with the program's co-host CBS Saturday Morning Dana Jacobson, Michelle Miller, said a tearful farewell to her audience after seven years of work in November 2025.
«Every story I told reminded me that change is not an end, but an evolution, and, I might add, a chance to find a brighter sense of belonging,» Miller said during their final broadcast, as reported by Deadline .
The news anchor team was among those subject to mass layoffs at CBS News after Weiss took over.
12 of 13
Dana Jacobson
Former CBS Saturday morning host Dana Jacobson. Photo: Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty.
When Miller and Jacobson were fired in November, Jacobson said "it wasn't our choice," and the hosts thanked their producers, crew, makeup artists, and hairstylists.
After Pelley's firing in June 2026, Jacobson lamented the "breakup" of CBS News and "our little engine that was able to keep CBS running on Saturdays.".
13 of 13
Other shipments
Lesley Stahl, Anderson Cooper, Scott Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Cecilia Vega, Jon Wertheim, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Bill Owens, CBS News, August 21, 2023. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS News via Getty
Since Paramount began the merger with Skydance, many other journalists have left CBS News, though not all of them cited the network's editorial decisions, and others have been victims of widespread layoffs.
Executive Producer of the program «60 Minutes» Bill Owens announced his departure from the program in April 2025, before the merger was completed and new leadership had been appointed. In a resignation memo obtained by several outlets, he cited an inability to "make independent decisions based on what is right for 60 Minutes and what is right for the audience.".
«"This show is too important to the country and must continue, just not with me as executive producer," Owens reportedly wrote.
After CBS fired several more high-ranking staffers in May 2026, Owens, according to Variety, expressed his disappointment, saying, «CBS News and 60 Minutes »These are institutions, not places where partisans and ideologists should work.”.
Wendy McMahon, former president and co-chief executive of CBS News and Stations. Photo: Michelle Crowe/CBS via Getty.
CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon also left the network in May 2025 after four years in protest of the company's handling of Trump's lawsuit.
«It became clear that the company and I could not agree on how to proceed,» she wrote in a memo to her colleagues at the time, according to Deadline . "It's time for me to step down and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.".
In February 2026, the producer CBS Evening News programs Alicia Hastie resigned, writing in a memo to colleagues that "stories can be judged not by their journalistic merit, but by whether they fit a shifting set of ideological expectations," reports Times .
According to the publication The Independent , In October 2025, mass layoffs affected, among others, TV presenters Eliza Preston, Nancy Chen, Janet Shamlia, Nikki Battiste and Deborah Patta.
Read the original article on People.