CBS News has terminated veteran correspondent Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes following a heated confrontation with network executives over recent staff cuts at the program.
The firing came after Pelley clashed with the show's newly appointed executive editor Nick Bilton during a staff meeting on Monday. During that meeting, 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 reporting from the Guardian. "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that."
The confrontation followed CBS News management's decision the previous Thursday to fire the show's executive producer, executive editor, and two correspondents: Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. Network executives attempted to meet with Pelley after those initial terminations, but he was unavailable. When he finally met with Weiss and other executives on Tuesday, they told him his behavior during the staff meeting was inappropriate.
Bilton informed Pelley of his termination via message on Tuesday evening, citing his conduct at the meeting. "Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt," Bilton wrote. In a subsequent message to staff, Bilton said he had made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with Pelley over the weekend. "That was not the path Scott chose," he wrote.
Pelley's departure represents a significant loss for the newsmagazine. The veteran journalist first joined CBS News in 1989 and has served as chief White House correspondent and anchor of the CBS Evening News. He joined the 60 Minutes franchise in 1999 as a correspondent for the spin-off show 60 Minutes II before moving to the main program in 2004.
His firing leaves 60 Minutes with only three full-time correspondents ahead of its 59th season this fall: Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and L Jon Wertheim. Norah O'Donnell, the former CBS evening news anchor, contributes to the program. The departure of journalist Anderson Cooper earlier this year had already reduced the program's correspondent roster.
The changes represent substantial upheaval at the long-running investigative journalism program, which has been a cornerstone of CBS News for decades. Bilton indicated that 60 Minutes would more readily utilize correspondents from across the broader CBS News organization going forward, though no new contributors were announced with Pelley's termination.
In his message to staff, Bilton acknowledged the significant changes occurring at the program. "I realize this is a great deal of change in a very short time, and I wouldn't pretend otherwise," he wrote.