Scott Pelley Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images Veteran CBS News 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley accused the network’s editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to kill the venerable newsmagazine Monday.
Pelley, the former anchor of the CBS Evening News, made the comments in a fiery staff meeting with the show’s new executive producer Nick Bilton.
In the meeting, Bilton said that Weiss loves 60 Minutes, which is the most-watched news program in America, to which Pelley responded, “She’s murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place, she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”
A source familiar with CBS leadership’s thinking says that Weiss and Bilton see Pelley as an important contributor to the show, and had been trying to reach out to him since last Thursday’s moves.
The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr first reported details of the meeting, which The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Weiss launched an overhaul of the show last week, ousting the show’s well-liked executive producer Tanya Simon, a handful of other top producers, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, and bringing in the veteran technology journalist and columnist Bilton to take over the show.
Pelley told Bilton that he had “slender qualifications” for the job, and suggested that he was not welcome at the program.
Bilton told THR that he wants to bring a bit of “gonzo” journalism to the program, as well as correspondents that are experts in their respective fields, while continuing to hold the powerful to account. He also wants to significantly increase the show’s digital presence, though the specifics of that remain vague for now. He told 60 staff Monday that he wants the show to avoid the fate of other legacy media brands that struggled to adapt to the new reality of media.
In Monday’s meeting, Pelley also criticized the changes made to his former home at the Evening News, calling them “catastrophic” and wondering if a similar fate was destined for 60.
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