Scott Pelley accuses CBS News’ Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ ‘60 Minutes’

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the venerable newsmagazine at a staff meeting Monday with Nick Bilton, the technology journalist tapped to oversee the show, according to a source who was in the room. Bilton, a documentary filmmaker and former tech columnist at The New York Times, told the group of “60 Minutes” staff members that Weiss “loves this institution,” the source said. Pelley interrupted Bilton and pushed back. “She is murdering ‘60 Minutes. She does not love this place,” Pelley told Bilton, according to the source. “She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.” The meeting was intended to be Bilton’s introduction to the “60 Minutes” team. In another tense exchange, the source said, Pelley said Weiss has “no qualifications for her job” and told Bilton he has “slender qualifications” for his new role as executive producer of “60 Minutes,” the leading newsmagazine on television. CBS News spokespeople did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment. The details of the meeting were first reported by The Guardian. Weiss, a former opinion columnist and the founder of the website The Free Press, hired Bilton as part of a push to overhaul CBS News and “60 Minutes.” In a major shake-up on Thursday, CBS ousted Bilton’s predecessor, “60 Minutes” veteran Tanya Simon, and fired two correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Alfonsi and Weiss had clashed late last year over a last-minute decision to postpone a “60 Minutes” segment about the Trump administration deporting Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Alfonsi said the story was pulled for “political reasons”; Weiss said it was “not ready” for air. The story, titled “Inside CECOT,” ultimately aired in January. It included statements from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security that were not in the original version. The source who attended Monday morning’s “60 Minutes” staff meeting said Pelley deplored the “catastrophic” changes Weiss has made to the “CBS Evening News,” a show he hosted from 2011 to 2017. Pelley asked Bilton why he had accepted a position at a show “knowing that you will never be welcome here,” the source said. In a letter shared with “60 Minutes” staff on Thursday, Bilton 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’t. I have a notebook full of ideas.” Weiss was appointed to the CBS position last fall by David Ellison, a technology scion who took over the network’s parent company, Paramount, in an $8 billion merger with his media company, Skydance. Ellison is poised to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of CNN, in an $110 billion deal. It is unclear whether CBS News and CNN would be combined or operate independently if the merger is approved by regulators. CBS News legend Dan Rather and dozens of other journalists released a letter Monday urging Ellison to “uphold the principle of editorial independence.” “We urge you to send a clear message to your staff, your viewers, and the broader public that you respect and value editorial independence and press freedom,” the signatories said. Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to request for comment about the letter Monday. In the final seconds of Monday’s meeting, the source said, Bilton said he looked forward to speaking with staff members one-on-one in the coming days and weeks. “Enjoy the bagels,” Bilton said before exiting the room. Seconds later, the people in the room applauded for Pelley, according to the source.