Overview
- CBS News terminated Scott Pelley for cause in a note from new '60 Minutes' executive producer Nick Bilton after a tense staff meeting that took place on Monday and a follow-up meeting the next day.
- Audio of the June 1 gathering shows Pelley accusing Editor in Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the program and calling Bilton's qualifications "slender," which colleagues and outlets have widely reported.
- Bilton wrote that he had tried to reach Pelley before the meeting and described Pelley’s public attack as a "performative display of hostility," then sent a termination letter saying Pelley made clear he would not work toward the show's future.
- Pelley's departure follows last week's removal of executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, leaving the program with three veteran on-air correspondents and amplifying concerns about staff departures.
- The episode has heightened scrutiny of CBS's direction under Skydance/Paramount ownership and Weiss's editorship by raising new questions about editorial independence, newsroom morale, and the show's future staffing and reputation.