CBS News has added several new members to its “60 Minutes” team, including conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, following the mass exodus of longtime correspondents.
Douthat will join “60 Minutes” this September alongside war journalist, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger, journalist and filmmaker Gianna Toboni and recent CBS news hire Trevor Phillips, EP Nick Bilton revealed in a Tuesday memo to staff posted on social media.
Network mainstay Norah O’Donnell will continue on as a “60 Minutes” correspondent, with Bilton applauding her as a “powerhouse” as she wears hats as a correspondent and podcast host at the network.
Douthat will join “60 Minutes” as a correspondent alongside O’Donnell, while Junger, Toboni and Phillips will be considered “60 Minutes” contributors. Phillips, whom the network brought on in June, will continue to serve as senior global affairs correspondent, while Toboni also joins the network as a CBS News national correspondent.
Bilton called the new four members of the “60 Minutes” team “entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences.” “Between them, they have written books and magazine articles, produced documentaries, TV shows and podcasts, hosted live events and built brands on independent platforms,” he wrote.
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. Bilton said in the memo the new hires will “learn an immense amount from their incredible colleagues.”
The exits included executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as Scott Pelley after he objected to the firings. In the wake of the departures, Bilton reaffirmed his commitment to the show in a memo to staff and revealed that he consulted with Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim, whom he called “core to this show’s success,” on next steps.
“It has been a trying and difficult few days,” Bilton wrote in the memo at the time. “I know that. I’ve spent a lot of time in conversation with many of you, and especially in consultation with Lesley, Bill and Jon. We talked about what makes ’60 Minutes’ exceptional, about the traditions and legacy of the past, about how you do the work that produces such momentous pieces. We also talked about change: About new audiences, new platforms, and new ways of storytelling that these new audiences need.”
