CBS News terminated Scott Pelley after a heated public argument on Monday with Nick Bilton, ending the veteran reporter’s run at 60 Minutes as the show gets ready for its 59th season in the fall. The move leaves Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim to handle assignments for the newsmagazine.
The firing comes after months of turnover at the flagship program and after several senior managers were pushed out last week, including Tanya Simon, Draggan Mihailovich, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Anderson Cooper announced his exit in February, making Pelley the fourth 60 Minutes reporter to leave since then.
Pelley, one of the show’s most recognizable figures, had turned in segments on breaking political news and an underworld caverns feature in Vietnam. In 2021, he also presented a three-part report on the firefighters who tried to rescue people in the burning World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. His departure removes one of the program’s most experienced hands just as CBS News is trying to steady the show for another season.
The dispute burst into the open on Monday during a staff meeting, when Pelley lambasted Bilton and Bari Weiss and questioned whether they were qualified to manage a program like 60 Minutes. He accused Weiss of “murdering ’60 Minutes,” even as she had said last week that she wanted the show “to reach new heights through deep, revelatory journalism that breaks news, exposes wrongdoing, widens public understanding and forces accountability from every institution and every center of power.”
Bilton said in a Tuesday evening memo that he had tried repeatedly over the weekend to speak directly with Pelley and then sought common ground on Tuesday afternoon, but said Pelley chose a different path. He told staff he would offer “unyielding support” for the team and the journalism they produce going forward. CBS News has not said whether more staffing or editorial changes are coming, leaving the future shape of 60 Minutes open after one of its sharpest internal breakups in years.
