Longtime correspondent Scott Pelley has been fired from CBS News after a heated meeting with 60 Minutes’ new executive producer Nick Bilton.
Scott Pelley and CBS staff have private meeting on ’60 Minutes’
Anchor Scott Perry publicly challenged CBS News leadership during a staff meeting, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times.
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Scott Pelley is at the center of the CBS outrage.
The longtime correspondent for “60 Minutes” was fired from CBS News after a highly publicized private spat. Anchor’s departure came after a heated staff meeting. The New York Times and Status reported Monday based on leaked audio in which he can be heard accusing network editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the news show and lying to the newly hired executive producer, former technology journalist Nick Bilton.
CBS News fired the “60 Minutes” correspondent of more than 20 years after the exchange was reported by the media, USA TODAY reported. Perry, 68, did not receive any severance or other benefits effective immediately.
In a termination letter obtained by USA TODAY, Mr. Bilton told Mr. Perry that he hoped they could work out a “path forward together” following the “misconduct,” but that “you have made it clear that you are not interested in such a path.”
Perry, who has been with the network for nearly 40 years and appeared on “60 Minutes” for more than 20 years, has since publicly accused the network’s leadership of forcing bias on “60 Minutes,” pandering to politicians and “trying to curry favor with the Trump administration.”
USA TODAY has reached out to CBS for comment. A representative for Mr. Perry could not be reached.
The New York Times and Status reported that the staff meeting was aimed at introducing Mr. Bilton, a former Times technology columnist and investigative journalist, who was chosen to lead “60 Minutes” in late May.
In a tense exchange during the meeting in which the New York Times reported that Mr. Perry called Mr. Bilton’s qualifications “frivolous,” the broadcast journalist questioned Weiss’s commitment to the prosperity of the news program, saying she was “killing ’60 Minutes'” and that she was “brought in to kill it.”
In his termination letter, Bilton criticized Perry, saying the anchor had “hijacked” the meeting by “ambushing” him.
“You hijacked my first meeting with my staff to disrespect me, my qualifications, and my intentions in a manner that was extremely disrespectful and disrespectful,” Mr. Bilton told Mr. Perry in the memo. “Yesterday’s staged display of hostility, which took place in front of your staff rather than in an internal, private conversation, demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the program.”
“60 Minutes” producer Nick Bilton says Scott Pelley’s “antipathy” led to his firing
He said Perry’s “antipathy,” or hostility, toward the show’s future was clear, adding, “And I’m listening to you.”
“I’m here to provide top-notch news programming, not make headlines about newsroom drama, and I want to work with people who share this goal,” Bilton added.
Who is Nick Bilton? Journalist once wrote for ‘The Idol’
Mr. Bilton is a former technology columnist for the New York Times and previously worked in research and features at Vanity Fair. He also hosts a technology podcast, co-hosts “The Nick, Dick and Paul Show,” and is the author of “American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road” and “Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal.”
In addition to his journalism career, Bilton also works as a screenwriter and filmmaker. He wrote and directed the 2021 TV movie “Fake Famous,” a documentary about social media influencers, and was a staff writer on the 2023 drama “The Idol,” starring Sam Levinson.
This journalist has never worked in broadcast journalism or led a newsroom before. But he told the New York Times in a joint interview with Weiss that his nontraditional path could be an asset. “Bringing insiders into the company doesn’t change anything,” he says.
Mr. Bilton’s hiring coincided with mass layoffs at “60 Minutes.” Longtime senior leaders such as executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Dragan Mihailovic, as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, were fired from their roles on the show. In public statements, Alfonsi and Vega claimed that the firings were politically motivated.
Contributors: Greta Cross and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
