CBS News has terminated Scott Pelley, a prominent correspondent at 60 Minutes, following a heated confrontation with network management over recent staffing cuts at the program. The firing marks a significant shake-up at one of television's most established news shows.
The dismissal came after Pelley clashed with CBS executives during a Monday morning meeting. According to reports, Pelley objected strongly to decisions made the previous week that removed the show's executive producer, executive editor, and two correspondents, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, without explanation.
During the tense meeting with newly appointed executive editor Nick Bilton and other CBS News leadership, Pelley directly criticized Bari Weiss, the network's editor-in-chief who joined CBS in October. "She's murdering 60 Minutes," Pelley said, according to accounts of the exchange. "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that."
CBS management attempted to meet with Pelley after the Thursday terminations, but he was unavailable. On Tuesday, he met with Weiss and other executives, who told him his behavior had been inappropriate. Pelley later told staff members he expected to lose his job.
That same evening, Bilton sent Pelley a message stating he had been "terminated for cause effective immediately." In the message, Bilton referenced Pelley's conduct during the meeting, writing: "Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt."
Bilton subsequently informed 60 Minutes staff of the decision, acknowledging Pelley's importance to the program while defending his actions. "I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground," he wrote. "That was not the path Scott chose."
Pelley joined CBS News in 1989 and worked on 60 Minutes since 2004, becoming one of the program's most recognizable journalists. He previously anchored the CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017 and has won numerous awards for his reporting and interviews throughout his decades-long career.
The departures represent substantial changes for 60 Minutes, which has been a cornerstone of CBS News since 1968. With journalist Anderson Cooper announcing earlier this year that he would leave the show, Pelley's firing leaves the program with only three full-time correspondents heading into its 59th season: Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim. CBS News journalist Norah O'Donnell occasionally contributes to the show.
The network indicated it plans to use correspondents from across its organization more regularly, though no new contributors were immediately named. Bilton told staff he remained committed to supporting them and the show's future journalism.