Topline
Details of an explosive staff meeting at CBS News, first reported by the New York Times, are revealing a fractured behind-the-scenes culture at the network with one legacy correspondent—Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes”—railing against new boss Bari Weiss and accusing her of “murdering” the news division.
Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes.”
CBS via Getty Images
Key Facts
Pelley, who has been a correspondent on “60 Minutes” for 22 years, reportedly referred to the recent firing of longtime show producers as “Black Friday” and lambasted Nick Bilton, the new executive producer, as having “slender” qualifications for the job.
When Bilton told staffers that Weiss, who was brought in as the first ever editor-in-chief at CBS News under the direction of new owner and billionaire son David Ellison—“loves this institution,” Pelley reportedly interrupted to say, “She is murdering ‘60 Minutes.’”
He went on to say Weiss “does not love this place,” condemned the changes she’s made to the network’s evening news broadcast and added of the news division, “She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Bilton reportedly told Pelley he was “not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people” and ended the meeting after 15 minutes.
This is a developing story and will be updated.