The veteran journalist recently accused editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the network’s flagship news program.

60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley fired after slamming CBS News bosses

The veteran journalist recently accused editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the network's flagship news program.

By Oliver Gettell,

Oliver Gettell

Oliver Gettell is a senior news editor at **. He has been at EW since 2015 and previously worked at the Los Angeles Times.

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and Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 2, 2026 9:55 p.m. ET

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Scott Pelley on '60 Minutes'. Credit:

Michele Crowe/CBS

- Longtime *60 Minutes* correspondent Scott Pelley has been fired from the show after criticizing new CBS News leadership.

- In an explosive staff meeting that made national headlines, Pelley called out CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and *60 Minutes* executive producer Nick Bilton.

- Pelley's departure comes as the latest shakeup in a tumultuous time at the network.

Scott Pelley's time is up at *60 Minutes*.

The longtime correspondent has been fired from CBS News' flagship program, Variety reports, after slamming network leadership in a fiery staff meeting that made national headlines.

During that meeting, Pelley accused CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" *60 Minutes* and told newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton that he had "slender" qualifications for the job.

"Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear,” Bilton wrote in a letter cited by Variety. "And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated effective immediately."

*EW *has reached out to Pelley and CBS News for comment.

The departure of Pelley — who has been reporting stories for *60 Minutes* since 2004 — comes as the latest shakeup in a tumultuous period for CBS News.

Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton.

Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty; Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Weiss, founder of the digital news site the Free Press, took the reins at CBS News in October, following Skydance Media's acquisition of Paramount Global and its assorted assets. Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker, arrived in late May, replacing fired *60 Minutes* executive producer Tanya Simon, who was let go alongside executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.

Alfonsi alleged that her ouster from *60 Minutes* was due to a piece she did about the Trump administration deporting Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador, which was yanked before airing last year. (Weiss said at the time that the piece "was not ready"; it eventually aired with additional comments from the Trump administration.)

"Fearless, independent reporting has always been the defining standard at *60 Minutes*," Alfonsi said. She added, "CBS management is abandoning that mission, choosing access journalism over accountability and protecting power rather than scrutinizing it."

Dozens of well-known journalists, including many CBS News veterans, also sent an open letter to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison urging him to protect *60 Minutes*' editorial independence.

*This is a developing news story and will be …*

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