Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim have decided to stay at “60 Minutes” for its upcoming 59th season this fall, despite the recent firings of Scott Pelley and other colleagues.
“We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case,” they wrote in a memo to CBS News staff on Friday. “Here’s why we’re are staying: We don’t want to see ’60 Minutes’ die.”
“We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay at ’60 Minutes.’ We’re still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya and Draggan, strong leaders who everyone respected,” the journalists noted. “As far as we can tell — because no explanation has ever been offered, they were expelled because they fought for our ’60 Minutes’ values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity.”
“Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at ’60.’ Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud, passionate advocacy for our pieces,” they added. “This goes for Sharyn, Cecilia and Scott as well, all at the top of the world of TV journalism who exemplified ’60 Minutes’’ ethos of tough questions and honest storytelling.”
The update comes a day after new executive producer Nick Bilton praised the trio in his own message to employees, calling them “core to this show’s success.” Bilton also upped longtime staffer Maria Gavrilovic to senior producer in the process, all while Pelley and editor in chief Bari Weiss shared differing versions of events that led to the layoffs.
“We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast,” Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim’s Friday letter continued. “We want to stay and fight, try to repair and preserve our reputation by continuing the Mike Wallace tradition of hold their feet to the fire as well as Morley’s brand of quirky, off-kilter reports like his on why people in Finland like to Tango!”
“It’s early days, but we are working to build trust with Nick, and we are heartened by Maria’s promotion. We heard all the right things in yesterday’s ‘independence’ memo. It went a long way, and now we need to see these commitments to our process and procedures put into action. If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is — committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling — we’re here for it. If not, we leave,” they concluded. “For now we’re staying — for the audience, the millions who watch us with a loyal but critical eye. We’re staying for our teams, and all the teams. We work for you guys. The thought of abandoning you became unbearable. And, of course, we’re staying because this is home.”
TheWrap has reached out to Paramount for further comment, while “60 Minutes” is set to return for Season 59 this Fall on CBS.
Status was first to report this news.
