“60 Minutes” fans have thoughts about the program’s latest hires ahead of the Season 59 premiere this September — and they’re not all positive.
On Tuesday, CBS News announced several new members to its “60 Minutes” team, including conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger, journalist and filmmaker Gianna Toboni and recent CBS News hire Trevor Phillips. Douthat will join as a correspondent alongside veteran Norah O’Donnell, while Junger, Toboni and Phillips will be considered contributors.
Viewers were rankled by the hiring news almost immediately. A lot of that anger was directed at Douthat’s casting, which some viewed as Bari Weiss’ moves to further push “60 Minutes” and all of CBS News more to the right.
“Jesus. An institution destroyed. Haven’t turned it on since Pelly was fired… watched it religiously for 40 years,” one X user wrote. “Bari Weiss is doing the opposite of making good TV. Pretty amazing. A failure of a DEI hire!”
In June, correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim shared their intention to remain at “60 Minutes” for Season 59 this fall, despite the high-profile exits of their colleagues – most notably, Scott Pelley.
“So disappointed in Lesley Stahl and Norah O’Donnell for choosing money and greed and choosing to continue to stay with CBS News and report lies for Bari Weiss,” another social media user posted. “They should no longer be considered legitimate journalists and everything they have done before is just trash.”
Below are some of the most potent social media responses to the new hirings:
