Scott Pelley said he no longer recognizes "60 Minutes" in the months following Paramount Skydance's acquisition of CBS News, accusing the news division's leadership of "incompetence and unprofessionalism" that have been "wreaking havoc" for months.
In his first statement after CBS News announced his firing Tuesday evening, Pelley said Paramount Skydance was "throwing away that narrative" by weakening the news magazine "apparently to garner support from the Trump administration.".
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A CBS News representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CBS News fired a veteran "60 Minutes" reporter after the journalist and management felt they couldn't find common ground following a heated public dispute Monday between Pelley and Nick Bilton, a former technology reporter appointed last week by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who also fired the program's most veteran producers, as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Pelley is the fourth "60 Minutes" reporter to leave the venerable newsmagazine since February, leaving just the trio—Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim—to handle assignments as the program prepares to air stories for its 59th season this fall.
«"Last month, '60 Minutes' lost its original essence when our entire senior management and two of our best correspondents were brutally fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood up for justice against the forces of political bias; they stood up for professionalism against chaos," Pelley said.
«"As for me, the new management instructed me to introduce falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I was ordered to include unsubstantiated claims. So far, I have never been able to ignore or refuse these instructions. Recently, politicians were asked to select correspondents for on-air interviews. Giving politicians control over interviews on '60 Minutes' is the wrong approach," he added. "Finally, the incompetence and unprofessionalism of the new management have caused enormous damage. In the case of one of my stories, the entire program almost failed to air.".
Pelley, who for decades was one of CBS News' most prominent faces, anchoring "CBS Evening News" (for a time) and appearing on "60 Minutes," expressed hope that the venerable news division, once home to Walter Cronkite, can change for the better. "I leave after 37 years at CBS with one feeling—a heart overflowing with gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who supported and enriched my work, often at great personal risk. I pray for the day when these men and their ideals are once again honored—a day when common sense, competence, and courage return.".
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