Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ overhaul triggers turmoil, defections at CBS News

Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, fired from the network June 2, is openly calling for the ouster of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss — and his departure has thrown America’s most-watched newsmagazine into fresh chaos.

Asked directly in a New York Times interview whether Ms. Weiss should be removed, Mr. Pelley replied: “Oh, gosh, yes.” He described her as a capable person who nonetheless lacked the expertise to run a major television news organization. “Television’s not her thing,” he said. “She doesn’t know television. She doesn’t understand how it works. She doesn’t have management experience for a large organization like CBS News.” 

Mr. Pelley told The New York Times that his hope was that “the leadership of Paramount will say to themselves, this isn’t working.” He also said he perceived that Ms. Weiss was “putting a thumb on the scale” on behalf of the Trump administration during the most recent season of “60 Minutes.” CBS News said his argument was not credible and that there was no political interference at the organization. 

Ms. Weiss, a former New York Times opinion writer who founded The Free Press digital outlet, was appointed CBS News editor-in-chief by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison in October. She had no television experience when she took the job.

In her most consequential move, she ordered the dismissal of nearly the entire senior leadership of “60 Minutes,” ousting executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, and senior producers Guy Campanile and Matthew Polevoy. The remaining roster of correspondents — Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim — subsequently issued a joint statement confirming they would stay with the program. 

Mr. Pelley described the staff purge as “the Black Thursday massacre,” saying it came despite the most recent season delivering a 9% audience gain — which he called “unheard-of in broadcast television” — and a 190% growth in the show’s online presence, figures he attributed to Ms. Simon’s leadership. He noted the firings came within hours of him and Ms. Simon winning two Emmy Awards. CBS News did not dispute those specific metrics.

Mr. Pelley also alleged that Ms. Weiss attempted to influence a politically sensitive “60 Minutes” report on immigration protests in Minneapolis, describing the intervention as a level of editorial pressure he had never experienced in 37 years at CBS News. 

According to Variety, which spoke with five people familiar with CBS News operations, the show’s remaining staff is “unmoored” under the current leadership. Those sources described Ms. Weiss as having a “very royal” or “very remote” management style — rarely appearing in studios or control rooms and failing to build alliances with key talent. “Now Bari sits in new offices on the sixth floor and is rarely seen in the newsroom,” one CBS News staffer told the outlet.

Paramount has been in talks in recent weeks about bringing in a business executive to help Ms. Weiss navigate processes unfamiliar to her, according to Variety.

According to Variety, which cited ad-spending tracker Guideline, the network’s flagship programs — “60 Minutes,” “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “CBS Mornings,” “48 Hours” and “Face the Nation” — generated $362 million in advertising revenue in 2025. CBS’ chief insights and analytics officer, Sean Wright, told the trade publication that CBS has held a 22% share of broadcast-news advertising dollars for five consecutive years.

But that stability may not hold if the network’s credibility erodes. One media buyer told Variety that broadcast news had long been seen as less polarizing than cable rivals.

“Folks were staying more with the broadcast news because they felt that was safer,” the buyer said. “Well, I don’t think it’s safer any longer.”

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at Yale University’s School of Management, told Variety that Ms. Weiss’ lack of TV experience did not by itself disqualify her — pointing to Roger Ailes at Fox News and Tom Johnson at CNN as leaders who came more from politics than the newsroom. What harms her standing, he said, is a tendency to make decisions amid unnecessary conflict. “The issue is, she likes to create a storm.”

One rival television news executive offered a blunter assessment: “Instead of ’60 Minutes’ leading the news cycle for its journalism, it’s now known for its drama.”

Ms. Weiss said her team had tried to reconcile with Mr. Pelley but was unable to do so. Mr. Pelley disputed that account, saying he would not go quietly after nearly 40 years at CBS News. 

At a January all-hands meeting with CBS News staffers, Ms. Weiss told the assembled staff that the network was “not producing a product that enough people want” and that her mission was to make CBS News “fit for purpose in the 21st century.” Variety reported that she appears to be losing her grip on the ability to manage the organization in the short term as she pursues that longer-term goal.