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- CBS has fired longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley.
- The show’s staffing has undergone shakeups recently.
- Pelley had vocally confronted top management.
Scott Pelley attends the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration at Paramount Studios on May 02, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Frazer Harrison | Wireimage | Getty Images
CBS News has fired high-profile “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley amid debate about the direction of the show, which has been a mainstay of the network’s television lineup for decades.
“Your employment with CBS News is terminated for cause effective immediately,” Nick Bilton, the new executive producer of “60 Minutes,” wrote to Pelley in a letter seen by CNBC. It was not immediately clear when the letter was sent.
Pelley had previously said that Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, was “murdering” “60 Minutes,” according to NBC News.
During a meeting on Monday, Pelley told Bilton he has “slender qualifications” for the role of executive producer of newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” according to the NBC News report. Pelley didn’t immediately comment to Reuters when contacted about the ouster.
Bilton is a former New York Times technology columnist and has made several documentaries for HBO and Netflix. During an interview on May 28, he told CNBC that he first met Weiss socially in Los Angeles and later spent time with her working on two documentaries — “Unknown: Killer Robots” and “Biggest Heist Ever.”
Bilton replaced Tanya Simon as the show’s executive producer. Simon had spent more than two decades at “60 Minutes” before being ousted last week. In contrast, Bilton has no experience running a TV news show.
Skydance and Paramount merged last year, putting new leadership in charge of CBS and other Paramount properties including the storied film studio and more nascent streaming business. Paramount Skydance Chief Executive Officer David Ellison is now trying to merge Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery, and he needs the Trump administration’s regulatory approval to complete the deal.
In 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump sued “60 Minutes,” alleging the program deceptively edited an interview with his opponent, Kamala Harris. Paramount settled the lawsuit for $16 million, which irked some veteran “60 Minutes” employees, including Pelley. Another notable anchor, Anderson Cooper, announced he was leaving the show earlier this month.
Bilton told CNBC that he’s committed to demonstrating his hiring isn’t a political maneuver.
“I will prove it with the work,” Bilton said on May 28. “I’m dedicated to holding people in power to account.”
—CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
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