The longtime correspondent’s words followed a shakeup in staff.

Scott Pelley accuses CBS News boss Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ 60 Minutes in heated staff meeting

The longtime correspondent's words followed a shakeup in staff.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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June 2, 2026 1:31 p.m. ET

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Scott Pelley in 2025. Credit:

Michele Crowe/CBS News

- Scott Pelley, a longtime correspondent for *60 Minutes*, criticized CBS News leadership during a staff meeting.

- Pelley reportedly accused editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying "to kill" *60 Minutes*.

- Pelley's words followed several recent staffing changes.

Amid recent upheaval at CBS News, longtime *60 Minutes* correspondent Scott Pelley sharply criticized network leadership during a heated staff meeting Monday, including accusing editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the venerable news program.

As reported by the *New York Times* and Status, Pelley also told newly installed *60 Minutes* executive producer Nick Bilton that he had "slender" qualifications for the job.

Pelley's remarks came during an introductory meeting for Bilton, who was appointed last week. Weiss, meanwhile, took the reins at CBS News in October, following Skydance Media's takeover of Paramount Global and its various assets.

"Bari loves this institution," Bilton reportedly said in the meeting Monday. "She loves *60 Minutes*."

Pelley, who's worked on the show since 2004, disagreed. He also challenged Bilton's experience.

According to the *New York Times*, which obtained audio of the incident, Pelley's voice was "sometimes shaking in anger," as he said, "She is murdering *60 Minutes*. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she's been doing exactly that."

Pelley reportedly said that Weiss, who was not present, "has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job." He added, "The changes that she's made at the *Evening News* have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?"

Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton.

Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

The exchange followed Bilton's arrival to replace fired executive producer Tanya Simon and her deputy, as well as correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.

** has reached out for representatives for Pelley and CBS News for comment.

A source close to CBS News leadership, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told EW that Weiss and Bilton had sought to meet with Pelley privately in recent days to discuss his concerns but were unsuccessful.

In a news release announcing Bilton's hiring last week, Weiss hailed him as "one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time." She added, "We have huge ambition for *60 MINUTES* to reach new heights through deep, revelatory journalism that breaks news, exposes wrongdoing, widens public understanding and forces accountability from every institution and every center of power."

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Last week, Alfonsi commented on her departure from *60 Minutes* after more than a decade, which she alleged was due to the piece she did about the Trump administration deporting Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador, which was pulled off the air last year. (Weiss said at the time that the piece "was not ready"; it eventually aired with additional comments from the Trump administration.)

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"Fearless, independent reporting has always been the defining standard at *60 Minutes*," she said in a statement. "Today, CBS management is abandoning that mission, choosing access journalism over accountability and protecting power rather than scrutinizing it. The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down."

Since its debut in 1968, *60 Minutes* has earned dozens of awards, including 25 Peabody Awards, for its in-depth reporting, including interviews, and investigations.

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