Tensions are running high at the 60 Minutes headquarters. Now the CBS show’s editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, has reportedly been accused of “killing the show” by Scott Pelley.
The veteran correspondent made his feelings clear to the show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, during a heated staff meeting on Monday, June 1.
In the meeting, Bilton claimed that Weiss “loves 60 Minutes,” which is the most-watched news program in America. To that, Pelley responded, “She’s murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place, she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Pelley is then said to have told Bilton to his face that that he was not welcome at 60 Minutes and had “slender qualifications.”
Bilton replaced Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovic and was named the new executive producer of the show on May 28. He previously worked for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and produced multiple documentaries.
Bilton is said to have responded to Pelley by saying that he was “not intimidated by his remarks.”
CBS News managing editor Charles Forelle, who also sat in on the meeting, accused Pelley of “being rude,” to which he responded that the network was rude for the way they treated Simon, according to The Guardian. The outlet reported that 60 Minutes staffers supported Pelley and gave him a standing ovation after his comments.
These comments come after correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega were let go from the show last week. Anderson Cooper had his last show on the program as well on May 17. He got emotional during his final broadcast after two decades on the program.
Alfonsi had speculated that she was let go from 60 Minutes a few days before the announcement when her contract was not renewed, and she was made an “at-will” employee.
According to The Guardian’s Jeffrey Barr, Pelley praised Alfonsi at the News Emmys on May 27. Barr also tweeted about what Pelley said in the meeting, which THR confirmed.
“There have been many great 60 Minutes correspondents over the years. I see Sharyn Alfonsi there in the audience, one of our nominees tonight for her great work,” Pelley said at the awards ceremony.
Despite the comments, Weiss and Bilton see Pelley, former CBS Evening News anchor, as an important contributor to the show and have been trying to reach out to him since the announcement.
Pelley also criticized the “catastrophic” changes to Evening News. He wondered if the same would happen to 60 Minutes.
60 Minutes, Sundays, 7/6 c, CBS
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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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