CBS News hires technology journalist Nick Bilton to run ‘60 Minutes’

MediaCBS News hires technology journalist Nick Bilton to run ‘60 Minutes’Bilton, who has never worked in television news, replaces Tanya Simon, a 30-year veteran of “60 Minutes.”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Nick Bilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2017.Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 28, 2026, 12:39 PM EDTBy Daniel Arkin and Adam ReissCBS News on Thursday named a new top producer at “60 Minutes,” the network’s flagship newsmagazine: Nick Bilton, a documentarian, author and former New York Times technology columnist.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Bilton, who has never worked in television news, replaces Tanya Simon, a 30-year veteran of “60 Minutes.”“Nick is one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time,” said CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who also had no television news experience when Paramount Skydance hired her to run the division last fall.Bari Weiss, CBS News' editor-in-chief.Michele Crowe / CBS via Getty Images file“We have huge ambition for ‘60 Minutes’ 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,” Weiss added.The announcement comes a day after “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told The New York Times that CBS News had not renewed her contract. In December, Alfonsi clashed with Weiss over the last-minute postponement of her segment about a notorious prison in El Salvador.CBS News and Alfonsi did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the status of her deal.In a letter to “60 Minutes” staff Thursday, Bilton introduced himself and said in part: “I’m here to lead this show, not preserve it under glass. That means honoring what works and being honest about what doesn’...