Scott Pelley, a veteran 60 Minutes correspondent, called out CBS News management in a heated meeting on Monday morning, attacking the network’s decision on Thursday to fire the show’s executive producer, executive editor, and two fellow correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as part of a broader overhaul of the show, sources tell the Guardian.
During a meeting of the show’s staff and Nick Bilton, its newly appointed executive producer, along with the CBS News managing editor Charles Forelle, Pelley took direct aim at Bari Weiss, the network’s controversial editor-in-chief.
“She’s murdering 60 Minutes,” Pelley said, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”
Forelle accused Pelley of being rude, and Pelley countered by saying that the network had been rude by the way it treated Tanya Simon, the show’s executive producer who was fired on Thursday.
Bilton conveyed to Pelley that he would not be “intimidated” by his remarks.
60 Minutes staff who were present for the meeting showed strong support for Pelley, giving him a standing ovation, sources said.
A CBS News spokesperson declined comment on the meeting. A source with knowledge of the situation said that overtures have been made to Pelley, who is seen as an important part of the show. (Pelley has also been contacted for comment.)
Still, the exchange on Monday raises questions about Pelley’s long-term future at the show.
Last Wednesday, hours after Alfonsi announced that the network had opted not to renew her contract for the show’s 59th season, Pelley gave her a shoutout at the News & Documentary Emmy awards. “There have been many great 60 Minutes correspondents over the years. I see Sharyn Alfonsi in the audience,” he said.
Pelley was also effusive in praising Santiago Campos, an 18-year-old high school senior who called out the network’s direction under Weiss, saying that it “stains the legacy of Mike Wallace”, the namesake of the award that Campos received.
“I know that Mike Wallace is looking down on you with pride at this very moment,” Pelley said.
On Wednesday, Alfonsi – who had reported a December 2025 segment about a notorious prison in El Salvador that got shelved by Weiss – released a blistering statement, saying: “The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down.” She added: “Journalists willing to challenge authority are being pushed aside in favor of those who will not. If this continues, the result will be a broadcast that looks like 60 Minutes but lacks the courage and character to produce journalism that matters.”
In her own statement on Thursday, Vega, who joined the show in 2023, suggested that political bias was at play at the network.
“In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories,” she said. “Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions. Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy.” The network released a statement contesting Vega’s characterization.
