“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley called out CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in a heated meeting Monday, accusing her of “murdering” the long-running news program.
The Guardian reporter Jeremy Barr tweeted that things came to a head between Pelley, new “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton and others in a group meeting Monday. During the meeting, Pelley said of Weiss, who appointed Bilton, “She’s murdering ’60 Minutes.’ She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”
Barr additionally reported that Pelley pushed back directly against Bilton and co. over the string of “60 Minutes” firings last week, which resulted in the departures of — among others — correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. Pelley referred to the mass firing spree as “Black Thursday.”
A person close to CBS News leadership called Pelley’s outburst “disappointing” adding that Weiss and Bilton had made several attempts in the last week to reach out to Pelley and communicate that he’s valued at “60 Minutes.”
Bilton, a former tech journalist and filmmaker with no previous broadcast TV experience, was hired by Weiss to replace former “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon, who had been appointed to the role before Bilton after spending 30 years working on the news program. The meeting Monday was intended to formally introduce Bilton to the “60 Minutes” crew.
UPDATE: Scott Pelley called out Bari Weiss, saying in the meeting: "She’s murdering 60 mins. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that." https://t.co/FUgJLPYae5
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) June 1, 2026
According to a recording obtained by The New York Times, Bilton began the meeting by trying to assuage certain staff members’ fears about the future direction of “60 Minutes” under his stewardship.
“For me, the journalism is the journalism,” the executive producer told those in attendance. “That is why I am here. That is why we are all here.”
He added, “The rumors people are spreading, that I’m going to turn the show into 60 one-minute episodes, that it’s going to be like TikTok, that is not changing. The show is going to stay exactly like it is for now.”
“Broadcast is an ice cube that is melting, OK?” Bilton added, noting, “Bari loves this institution. She loves ’60 Minutes.’” It was the latter remark that launched Pelley into his screed against Weiss.
“She has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job,” Pelley told Bilton. “The changes that she’s made at the ‘Evening News’ have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?”
“I will show you. That’s what I have to say. That is my plan over the next two weeks. I’ll be meeting with everyone,” Bilton replied. “I’m very excited to meet with everyone, yourself included.”
Puck senior correspondent Dylan Byers offered additional insight into Pelley’s heated Monday meeting with Bilton. During the confrontation, Bilton reportedly told Pelley their conversation would best be held in private, to which the latter replied that he would prefer to speak candidly in front of their colleagues.
“They’re my colleagues, too,” Bilton argued, to which Pelley is said to have countered, “That remains to be seen.” As Byers noted, Weiss was not present for the meeting. A CBS executive who was in attendance told those gathered Weiss had been prepared to come before “we asked her not to,” due to staff members’ negative opinions about the firings she oversaw last week.
“I have no problem taking a job in a place that I am not welcome in,” Bilton told Pelley, after the latter asked him why he even accepted the “60 Minutes” position, despite knowing “you will never be welcome here.” Bilton told Pelley, “I don’t think that will be the case,” adding, “You are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people. I want that to be clear.”
“I care so deeply about this institution,” Bilton said in the meeting, prompting disbelief from Pelley. The new executive producer then addressed the “60 Minutes” correspondent directly, telling him before exiting the meeting, “Scott, I’m not intimidated by you. I look forward to talking to you in a one-on-one setting as these meetings are scheduled. And enjoy the bagels.”
In response to a request from top Weiss deputy Charles Forelle that he not be “rude” to Bilton, Pelley responded, “I’m not being rude. You know what was rude? Black Thursday was rude.”
Following their oustings last week, both Vega and Alfonsi expressed their concerns over the new, Weiss-led direction of “60 Minutes.” In a statement shared after her firing, Vega wrote, “I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast.”
In her own, lengthy statement last week, Alfonsi, who clashed behind-the-scenes with Weiss over her “Inside CECOT” story, echoed Vega’s concerns.
“The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down. Journalists willing to challenge authority are being pushed aside in favor of those who will not,” Alfonsi warned. “If this continues, the result will be a broadcast that looks like ’60 Minutes’ but lacks the courage and character to produce journalism that matters.”
Weiss has come under heavy fire and scrutiny in recent days for her aggressive restructuring of the “60 Minutes” leadership and correspondence teams. Pelley, notably, is far from the first high-profile figure to question Bilton’s appointment in particular, given his lack of qualifying experience for his new role.
While speaking with Katie Couric last week, former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta called the moves proof that “the wheels have come off over at CBS and Bari Weiss only has herself to blame.”
In his first memo to the “60 Minutes” staff last week, Bilton called his hiring “the honor of my career” and labeled his new position “the best job in journalism.” At the same time, he teased big changes coming to the legendary news program.
“The world we are reporting on, and the world we are reporting to, where people consume their news, has moved. And if we don’t move with it, in the ways that matter, we won’t be here for the next sixty years. I want to do everything humanly possible to ensure that we are,” Bilton wrote. “Evolving or dying isn’t a threat. It’s simple math.”
“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,” his memo continued. “I’m excited to share them, and I’m confident you’ll be excited by them, too.”
Pelley has been reporting stories on “60 Minutes” since 2004. Bilton, meanwhile, built his career penning investigative features for outlets like The New York Times and Vanity Fair. In 2021, he also wrote and directed the HBO documentary “Fake Famous,” exploring online influencer culture.
