After Scott Pelley’s Firing, CBS News Staff Anxious Over What’s Next Under Bari Weiss’ Rule
EXCLUSIVE: “I have been in this business a long time, and I have never seen anything this bad,” a CBS News insider told Deadline today amid the fallout of recent firings at 60 Minutes and accusations of political interference at the Bari Weiss-ruled division. After a verbal dust-…
EXCLUSIVE: “I have been in this business a long time, and I have never seen anything this bad,” a CBS News insider told Deadline today amid the fallout of recent firings at 60 Minutes and accusations of political interference at the Bari Weiss-ruled division.
After a verbal dust-up this week between 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and new EP Nick Bilton saw the ex-CBS Evening News anchor terminated for cause effective immediately late Tuesday, many CBS News staffers are wondering, what and who could be next?
“We cover the news, we should never be the news,” a network vet lamented Wednesday as a litany of searing salvos from both sides flew on and offline. “This is a damn embarrassment,” she added, noting the morale is low and the environment “closed-door toxic” at CBS News today.
RELATED: Scott Pelley Responds To Bari Weiss, Says She Misled Staffers About What Transpired In Final Meeting With CBS News Brass
Also, CBS Evening News has suffered from constant weak or declining viewership and amateur-hour missteps since Weiss installed Tony Dokoupil as anchor in January.
RELATED: Fired Scott Pelley Decries “Heartbreaking” Submission To Trump By CBS, Paramount: “Incompetence & Unprofessionalism In The New Management Have Wreaked Havoc”
Whether it is blush-worthy or not, the past year since David Ellison took over parent company Paramount and especially since Free Press founder Weiss was given the new gig of editor-in-chief, has seen a parade of exits on both sides of the camera on the acclaimed newsmagazine.
Not only has 37-year network veteran Pelley been shown the door after questioning the intentions and qualifications of both Weiss and Bilton, but 60 Minutes alone lost Anderson Cooper at the end of its 58th season last month despite Weiss’ efforts to retain the CNN star. Additionally, last month saw correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega axed, along with executive producer Tanya Simon and other top producers.
RELATED: “I Hope ‘60 Minutes’ Remains ‘60 Minutes’”: Anderson Cooper Signs Off CBS Newsmagazine With Tribute To Its Quality And Independence
“How are we going to even be able to put on a show next season?” a longtime staffer said today of 60 Minutes, which was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard and premiered in 1968. “We are running out of time and people here, and we need both.”
In the immediate term, as former top staffers lawyer up and a he said/they said clash emerges over how the blunt Pelley’s final days at CBS were handle,d there is the question of whether the three remaining full-time correspondents at 60 Minutes will remain.
RELATED: CBS News Vs. Sharyn Alfonsi Could End Up In Court As Bari Weiss Fires Ex-‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent
Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim have yet to issue a public statement. The trio are said to be “taking a breath” and assessing the situation, sources say.
As Weiss indicated in a call with staff earlier Wednesday, CBS News leadership are in the process of looking to add new hires. There also has been speculation that existing CBS News talent will contribute more frequently to the show, as Major Garrett recently interviewed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Fromer CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell already serves as contributing correspondent, in addition to her other roles at the network. Some speculate that O’Donnell soon could be assigned an even greater role at CBS News.
Others see the forced departure of Pelley as the burning of Weiss’ bridges at CBS News.
“Weiss has lost the trust of the troops — she can’t stay,” one exec stated, predicting that the former New York Times writer would return to running the Ellison-purchased Free Press in the next few months.
RELATED: Former ‘60 Minutes’ Executive Producer Bill Owens Praises Scott Pelley For Speaking Out, Blasts CBS News For Purge Of Top Staffers And Correspondents
Despite the friction and faceplants, Weiss’ position still appears secure as she enjoys the backing of Ellison as Paramount moves ahead on its $111 billion acquisition of CNN owner Warner Bros Discovery with help from good friend Donald Trump and his administration.
There also is a contingent inside CBS News and the overall network that views some of the changes Weiss has instigated as long overdue for a 21st century media organization. “People at CBS News, both talent and staff, are not big fans of 60 being so siloed,” we heard. “They believe it needs to be integrated into the larger newsroom.”
Certainly, among staffers outside of 60 Minutes, the show has long been been viewed as an entity of its own, free from the daily grind and, as one of the network’s most watched shows, traditionally given a level of independence. Still, while some admit that “change is hard” and it was no secret Weiss had the newsmagazine in her sights with big changes planned, the wave of recent firings came as a harsh surprise.
RELATED: CBS News Vs. Sharyn Alfonsi Could End Up In Court As Bari Weiss Fires Ex-‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent
Agreeing or not, some staffers simply want to move forward, given the daily news demands. However many of those we spoke to fault Weiss and her new-ish team for their handling of the situation.
“We cover the news, we should never be the news,” a CBS News insider decried. “This is an embarrassment.”
At the same time, some view that Pelley also could have avoided the very public showdown with Bilton, which quickly drew headlines on Monday, although he has drawn support from 60 Minutes veterans for pushing back and for raising the issue of trust.
On social media, there was a great deal of mourning over 60 Minutes and its future, countered by criticism, mainly on the right.
RELATED: Cecilia Vega Blasts CBS After Firing From ‘60 Minutes,’ Calls Out “Censorship, Both Imposed And Self-Driven”
Pelley “overplayed his hand,” in the words of Katie Miller, the MAGA loyalist podcaster and wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller. “There isn’t a market for his type of $5 million/year biased journalism. This is what happens when you work to become the story instead of report on it,” Miller wrote. It should be noted, in what is viewed as yet another bauble for Donald Trump to secure the WBD bid, Paramount has had talks about a distribution deal for Miller’s not that popular podcast.
Yet, in the lead up to the firings last week, insiders talked of Weiss’ desire to secure “the next generation of talent”, in addition to efforts to save money in tight pursed economy.
Still, many of the comments from those who worked with Pelley through the years were supportive of his legacy.
RELATED: ‘60 Minutes’ Executive Producer Replaced In Shakeup Of CBS News’ Top Show; Nick Bilton To Lead Broadcast, Cecilia Vega Exiting
