CBS dismisses 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley following management dispute
Pelley alleges pressure to inject bias and suggests dismissal is an attempt to appease the Trump administration, while new management cites incivility during staff meeting.
US broadcaster CBS has dismissed veteran journalist Scott Pelley from the program 60 Minutes following a confrontation with new management. The termination, confirmed on Tuesday, deepens the institutional turmoil at the influential news programme days after a significant leadership overhaul at the network.
Pelley, 68, reportedly accused Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of undermining the programme and criticised new executive producer Nick Bilton’s qualifications during a staff meeting on Monday. According to a report on the Status website, which claims to have a recording of the meeting, Pelley stated that Weiss was brought in to kill the news outlet and was succeeding in doing so.
In a termination notice obtained by The Associated Press, Bilton accused Pelley of carrying out an ambush against him with incivility and contempt. The letter cited Pelley’s actions during his first staff meeting, where he reportedly hijacked the session to disparage Bilton’s intentions and professional background.
Pelley issued a statement claiming that 60 Minutes has lost its DNA under the new regime. He alleged that managers had asked him to inject falsehoods and bias into his reporting, though he did not provide specific details of these requests. He further suggested the dismissal was an attempt by the new network owner to curry favour with the Trump administration.
The firing follows the recent departure of several other correspondents, including Tanya Simon, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Cecilia Vega. Alfonsi had previously criticised Weiss regarding the postponement of a segment on deportees sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador. Pelley joins more than half a dozen people who have left the Sunday news magazine in recent weeks.
CBS’s parent company, Paramount, was acquired by Skydance Media in August. Skydance, run by David Ellison, installed Weiss as Editor-in-Chief in October. Ellison, a longtime supporter of Trump, had previously helped secure regulatory approval for the deal, promising that the CBS network would reflect varied ideological perspectives.
Prior to the acquisition, Paramount paid a $16 million settlement in 2024 to resolve a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump regarding a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump had argued that the editing of one of her remarks provided a distorted view of his political rival, although legal experts characterised the case as without merit.
