Former 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley went public this week with a sharp attack on the leadership of CBS News, calling for the removal of Bari Weiss as head of the division and saying the network's flagship newsmagazine is in crisis.
According to Variety, Pelley made the comments in an interview with The New York Times, speaking with reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro. He was fired by CBS News last week after a clash with Nick Bilton, whom Weiss had installed as executive editor of 60 Minutes.
"We need adult supervision, and at the moment we don't have it. We have people who've been installed in these jobs who through no fault of their own have no experience in television. They don't know what they're doing," Pelley said. "And there's a subtle political bias that I've never seen at '60 Minutes' before, or at CBS News before. So that is my hope: a return to sanity."
Pelley's firing came after a broader shakeup at the show. Among those removed were former executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Dragaan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Pelley described the forced departure of Simon as affecting him "like your spouse being murdered." He also said "CBS News is on fire" in the wake of the staff cuts.
Weiss has overseen what Variety described as one of CBS News' most turbulent periods. She has argued the network is fighting for survival and for new viewers, particularly those who consume news through social and digital platforms rather than traditional television. CBS News pushed back on Pelley's characterization of her editorial involvement with his work, saying her suggestions on one of his stories were part of "the course of editorial back and forth" that "had no political motivation and were proposed solely to make the piece as strong, fair and accurate as possible." CBS News also described itself as "a newsroom that operates with collaboration."
Pelley rejected the argument that existing staff at CBS News were out of touch with digital media. "Of course we have to reach out to a younger and younger audience, but their argument about joining the internet age is just disingenuous. It's almost as if Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton were sealed in a time capsule in 1990, and it just cracked open. They've just discovered the internet, and they're running around telling everybody how important it is," he said.
CBS News shows including CBS Sunday Morning and CBS Evening News generate millions of dollars in advertising and help support the distribution of CBS and other Paramount properties on cable and streaming platforms around the world. Other correspondents, including Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim, have said they are staying at 60 Minutes, though some have issued what have been described as an ultimatum over the show's direction.
