CBS News fired longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, a day after he reportedly claimed that managing editor Bari Weiss was "killing the show" and accused the new producer of being "poorly qualified" for the job. The move deepened the turmoil at the nation's most influential television news program and the division that oversees it.
According to a detailed report on the website Status, Pelley criticized the program's leadership during an introductory meeting Monday between the show's staff and Nick Bilton, the new executive producer appointed by Weiss last week. In a dismissal notice received Tuesday evening by the Associated Press, Bilton, a former technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional television news background, accused Pelley of orchestrating an "ambush" against him.
«"Yesterday you disrupted my first meeting with the staff in order to discredit me, my qualifications, and my intentions with astonishing impoliteness and contempt," the letter reads.
Status, which heard a recording of Monday's meeting, reported that Pelley began grilling Bilton about the firings last week of her predecessor, Tanya Simon, as well as reporters Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Weiss was not present at the meeting.
In a resignation letter sent late Tuesday, Bilton said Pelley's "revealing display of hostility" showed he was "not interested in contributing to the future success of the show.".
Pelley's agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.