During a “tense” all-hands meeting on Monday morning, seasoned 60 Minutes contributor Scott Pelley attacked the show’s recently appointed executive producer.
According to Puck, The Guardian, The New York Times, and Status, Pelley, 68, accused Nick Bilton, 49, of having “slender qualifications for [his] job.”
On Thursday, longstanding 60 Minutes executive Tanya Simon was replaced by Bilton, a former columnist for the New York Times. In addition, Pelley questioned Bilton about the firings of the day and his allegiances.
In response, Bilton tried to advance the conversation. According to Puck, he recommended that the discussion take place in private.
Pelley retorted that he would rather resolve the issue in front of his coworkers right away. “They’re my colleagues too,” Bilton said to Pelley.
According to reports, Pelley said, “That remains to be seen.”
Eventually, Bilton had to assure Pelley that he would not be “intimidated” because the talk became so tense.
According to the publications, Charles Forelle, the managing editor of CBS, had to intervene twice to accuse Pelley of being “rude.”
The 10 a.m. meeting began with Pelley accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering 60 Minutes” and having “no qualifications for her job.”
During a heated all-hands 60 Minutes meeting on Monday morning at the newsmagazine’s Manhattan headquarters, Scott Pelley, third from the right, took on the show’s recently appointed executive producer.
Several outlets claimed early on Monday afternoon that Pelley, 68, accused Nick Bilton, 49, of having “slender qualifications for this job” in front of his coworkers.
In October, Weiss was appointed chief editor of CBS News.
“So why should we expect any improvement in any of this?” Pelley turned to Bilton and inquired.
Following the announcement of Bilton’s appointment on Thursday, Pelley went on to analyze remarks the producer made to the media.
When 60 Minutes was first established in 1968, its inventor, Don Hewitt, had a similar vision to Bilton’s.
Did you ever collaborate with Don Hewitt and tell everyone about his thoughts and sources of inspiration?Before challenging Bilton’s credentials once more, Pelley said, “I worked for Don Hewitt from 1999 to 2004 and Lesley Stahl probably worked with him for 30 years.” I’m just curious how you have such profound understanding.He inquired.
In response, Bilton asked if Pelley had any more queries. “I did,” Pelley responded, referring to the firings on Thursday.
The termination of correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, an 11-year veteran who argued with executives over an article critical of the Trump administration late last year, was mentioned in the opening question. According to Status, Pelley questioned “what was wrong with” her.
Following the departure of then-executive producer Bill Owens early last year, Pelley already stunned fans with a wild speech blasting Paramount.
Only the fifth executive producer in the history of 60 Minutes, Bilton declared he would “defer.”
“This is not the crowd to avoid,” Pelley insisted. “Nobody discussed that with you?”
He went on, “They’re taking one of your correspondents away, and nobody told you what was wrong with Sharyn.”
According to Status, Bilton admitted he “had conversations with people,” but he would not go into any detail.
Pelley wanted to know what was discussed during those conversations. According to Status, he questioned, “Are these private conversations?”
In response, Bilton reiterated that he “did not fire” Alfonsi or Cecilia Vega, the second 60 correspondent cut on Thursday.
After then-executive producer Bill Owens left Paramount early last year, Pelley, who had already upset audiences with a rogue speech denouncing the company, retorted that Bilton must still have been somewhat involved in those discussions.
At this point, Forelle chastised Pelley for his “rude” actions and claimed that his line of inquiry was “not actually productive.”” “This is not an interview,” Bilton informed the reporter.
Pelley allegedly said, “It’s working for me.”
A number of 60 Minutes employees were let go on Thursday, including Cecilia Vega (center). Additionally, executive producer Tanya Simon and Sharyn Alfonsi (far left) were shown the door.
Back in October, Bari Weiss was appointed chief editor of CBS News. Pelley once claimed that her new modifications were “murdering” 60 Minutes.
The former presenter of CBS Evening News continued by asking Bilton “what was wrong with” Draggan Mihailovich, the other senior producer who was let go on Thursday. Pelley called the day’s events “Black Thursday” several times. He called its execution “cruel.”
According to Status, Forelle accused Pelley of being “rude” once more at this point.
“I’m not being rude,” Pelley protested. Do you know what was impolite? Thursday is Black. According to Status, that was the epitome of rudeness.
“Telling Tanya Simon that she needed to leave at five o’clock.Draggan Mihailovich was sent to HR for termination because no one could look him in the eye. I’m not referring to Tanya’s contract.
I’m not referring to Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract. Not discussing the contract with Cecilia Vega. Pelley said, “Just calling them up and telling them they were fired.”
“That’s impolite.” This is a dialogue. You participated in that, which is impolite.
Weiss, whom Bilton suggested Pelley meet separately, was not there for the tirade.”What I would like to do right now is talk about what happens next,” he continued.
The renownedly close-knit 60 Minutes crew laughed when Bilton insisted that those being considered “are not going to be new correspondents that have never done this before.”
The future of Scott Pelley and Lesley Stahl at CBS News is currently up in the air. Before Thursday’s cuts, the two are shown in a photo with the rest of the 60 Minutes crew. After Anderson Cooper left in April, only Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Stahl, and L. Jon Wertheim were left. “You have no idea what my plans are, so I will present those plans to you.” In response, Bilton remarked, “I will present them when the time is right.”
But Pelley wasn’t done with Bilton, who took over for Simon, a 25-year TV veteran, at Weiss’s request. According to Status, Pelley added, “Here’s a question: Were you aware of how Black Thursday was going to play out?””That you would accept this position knowing that you would never be accepted here strikes me as strange.
According to reports, Bilton, 49, responded, “I have no problem getting a job in a location that I am not welcome, OK? That won’t happen, in my opinion. I’ve been a journalist for twenty-five years, Scott. He went on, “I have sat and talked with incredibly powerful people like you.”
“You are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people because none of it intimidates me, okay?”
Pelley questioned Bilton about whether accepting the position “show[ed] good judgment.”
“Yes,” said Bilton. “To ensure that what happened to TIME magazine and all of these other institutions does not happen here,” he stated.
Both former CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and former Executive Producer Bill Owens departed the network last year due to alleged changes in editorial direction under parent company Paramount. In May 2024, Vega and Pelley (right) are pictured beside them.
“Well, we feel safe,” Pelley joked. That’s fantastic. I’m grateful.
That was the end of the meeting and Pelley’s tantrum.During what was supposed to be a formal introduction, Bilton complimented his team for “graciously being so welcoming.” A number of news organizations swiftly acquired recordings of the incident.
Anderson Cooper, who had already departed the program in April before his contract expired, was not present during the meeting. According to Status, the recent direction of the show under Weiss was at least partially responsible for the change.
According to sources who spoke to Status earlier this year, Stahl, another veteran of 60 Minutes, is reportedly considering leaving CBS after being passed down for a recent meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Citing corporate overreach that they claimed existed prior to Ellison’s rise to CEO at a post-merger Paramount in July, Owens and former CBS News chief Wendy McMahon both resigned ahead of Paramount’s then-pending merger with Skydance last summer. “They’re killing 60 Minutes,” Owens similarly told Status of the changes seen from Weiss on Thursday.
Vega told the New York Times that her refusal to modify her stories to be politically biased led to her termination.
Following Owens’ departure in April 2025, she, Cooper, and Alfonsi were among a group of 60 Minutes journalists who insisted that CBS announce the show’s next executive producer.
In the past, Pelley anchored CBS Evening News. Since 1989, he has worked for the network.
In July, Simon, the daughter of renowned 60 Minutes contributor Bob Simon, was hired on a temporary basis.
At the time, Ellison outlined a plan for expanding the premier Paramount asset’s reach nationwide and bringing it into the digital era.
Since then, CBS has undergone a transformation that began with Weiss’s hiring in October.
“He has been consistently prescient about the ways that the technological revolution that we’re living through is upending the way that we consume storytelling and information,” Weiss told the Times last week. “He has been the one to see the tsunami before the wave hits the rest of us.” Bilton’s hiring was described as being in line with that vision because he is a tech and culture columnist fluent in topics like AI.
Similar to Weiss, Bilton’s lack of broadcast experience makes him an outsider.
According to sources who spoke with CNN recently, Weiss perceived 60 Minutes “as calcified and resistant to change” during her first six months as news chief.
On Monday night, CBS declined to comment on the situation.
