CBS has reportedly fired “60 Minutes” reporter Scott Pelley after he publicly criticized network executive Bari Weiss and new executive producer Nick Bilto.
WASHINGTON — A day after reporter Scott Pelley said CBS News chief Bari Weiss was “murdering” “60 Minutes,” new producer The report said he had been fired due to his “weak” qualifications for the job.
“The hostility displayed at the show yesterday – displayed in front of staff rather than in a civil, private conversation – demonstrates that you have no interest in contributing to the show’s future success or in accepting my new term with an open mind,” Nick Bilton said. In a letter to Paley he wrote reviewer type. “Your aversion to the show’s future has been abundantly clear. I hear you. Therefore, on behalf of CBS News, Inc. (“CBS”), I am writing to inform you that your employment with CBS has been terminated, effective immediately.”
CNN The contents of the same letter were also reported.
According to a detailed report in Newsmagazine, Paley made his accusations during an introductory meeting Monday between Newsmagazine staff and Bilton, the new executive producer who Weiss appointed last week. status websitethe company said it had listened to a recording of the meeting. According to reports, Weiss himself was not present. Status specializes in media news and analysis.
Paley, a longtime “60 Minutes” reporter, began grilling Bilton during the 10 a.m. meeting, Status reported. Bilton’s predecessor, Tanya Simon, was fired last week, along with reporters Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Status also reported that Paley told Bilton, a former technology reporter and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, that his qualifications for the position were “minimal.”
According to Status, Paley also accused Weiss of being “unqualified for the job” and said the changes she made to “CBS Nightly News,” which Paley once hosted, were “disastrous.”
It added that Bilton insisted that “Barry loved the institution” and “she loved 60 Minutes” – to which Paley retorted, “She’s murdering 60 Minutes. She doesn’t like the place.” She was brought in to kill it, and that’s exactly what she did. “
Memo sparks controversy after touting ‘new approach’
Reports of the contentious meeting come four days after Weiss told staff in a memo that it was time for a “new approach” at the top news magazine. Weiss has become a polarizing figure in the media world since taking the helm at CBS last October.
Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski said in the memo that their goal is to “create a show that thrives in the 21st century.”
“This requires a new approach,” they wrote, defining that approach as “expanding ’60 Minutes’ beyond the one-hour telecast, deepening its role at CBS News, and allowing all the content we produce to embody the ambition, fairness and fearlessness that make ’60 Minutes’ the best.”
Bilton, they said, “embodies the energy and ambition that inspired the show’s founders. We could not imagine a better fit.”
The Status report noted that Pelley was applauded multiple times by other staff members during the meeting. According to reports, Pelley focused on last week’s firing, calling it cruel.
Bilton reportedly responded that he was not intimidated. “Scott, I’ve been a reporter for 25 years,” Status quoted him as saying. “I’ve sat down and talked with very powerful people like you. None of that scares me, okay? So you’re not going to scare me in front of this group of people.”
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