CBS 海角社区app fired longtime 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, a day after he reportedly said Editor-in-Chief was and accused its new producer of having 鈥渟lender qualifications鈥� for the job.
The move deepened the turmoil at the nation’s most influential TV news program, days after a leadership overhaul.
Pelley, 68, criticized management Monday during a fiery staff meeting with Nick Bilton, the program’s new executive producer , according to a detailed report on the
In a termination notice obtained Tuesday night by The Associated Press, Bilton, a technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, accused Pelley of carrying out an 鈥渁mbush鈥� against him.
鈥淵esterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,鈥� the letter states.
Pelley said in a statement that 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� has lost its DNA under new management. He accused them of asking him to 鈥渋nject falsehoods and bias鈥� into his work, without sharing specific details.
Pelley is accused of a 鈥榩erformative display of hostility鈥�
Status, which said it had a recording of the Monday meeting, reported that Pelley had said Weiss was brought in to kill the news outlet, 鈥渁nd she鈥檚 doing exactly that.鈥� Weiss was not present for the meeting.
Pelley reportedly grilled Bilton about the firings last week of Bilton鈥檚 predecessor, Tanya Simon, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Alfonsi had criticized Weiss last year for postponing a segment about deportees sent to the in El Salvador as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Pelley said in his statement that those colleagues 鈥渟tood for fairness against the forces of political bias.鈥� He also accused CEO David Ellison of casting aside the show’s reputation 鈥渁pparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.鈥� Ellison, an ally of the Republican president, has owned CBS since 2025, when its parent company, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media.
In the dismissal letter Tuesday, Bilton said Pelley鈥檚 鈥減erformative display of hostility鈥� demonstrated that he has 鈥渘o interest in contributing to the future success of the show.鈥�
An uneasy stretch for CBS 海角社区app
Since Weiss last October, it has traveled a bumpy road.
Pelley’s termination came just five days after Weiss, who has become a polarizing figure in the media world since taking the reins, told staff in a memo that it was time for a 鈥渘ew approach鈥� at the top-rated newsmagazine.
In the memo, Weiss and CBS 海角社区app president Tom Cibrowski said their goal for 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� was 鈥渂uilding a show that thrives in the 21st century.鈥� That could include extending the show beyond a 60-minute broadcast, they said.
鈥�60 Minutes鈥� first aired in 1968 and is the longest-running prime-time show in TV history. Its investigative journalism and probing interviews, sometimes with unwilling subjects, have given it the reputation of uncompromising journalism 鈥� precisely the trait that Pelley said he feared was under assault.
Pelley started working for CBS in 1989. He was its chief White House Correspondent from 1997 to 1999, during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and anchored 鈥淐BS Evening 海角社区app鈥� from 2011 to 2017. He has won 51 Emmy Awards, according to his CBS bio.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
