The head of CBS News told employees on Wednesday that longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley was being fired due to a breakdown of trust.
“I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect; we cannot do our work without it,” Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss reportedly told the newsroom on the morning call.
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“That foundation was broken on Monday,” she added.
The controversy erupted after CBS News terminated veteran journalist Scott Pelley on Tuesday, one day after a tense staff meeting reportedly devolved into a heated confrontation with newly appointed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton.
Pelley has been a fixture at “60 Minutes” for nearly three decades.
He reportedly challenged Bilton’s credentials during the meeting.
According to accounts of the exchange, Pelley questioned whether Bilton possessed the experience necessary to lead one of television’s most respected news programs and sharply criticized recent management decisions at the network.
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Bilton was hired as executive producer in May after CBS leadership dismissed longtime 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon.
A former technology columnist and author, Bilton built his career primarily in print and digital media rather than television news, a background that has fueled skepticism among some journalists and media observers.
During the meeting, Pelley reportedly told Bilton that his qualifications for the role were “slender” and accused Weiss of “murdering” the network.
According to reports, Weiss was not present during the exchange, The Hill noted.
“She does not love this place,” Pelley reportedly said of Weiss. “She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
🚨 NEW: Greg Gutfeld SLAMS fired CBS host Scott Pelley as a “self-serious weasel,” adding “every time he speaks it’s as though it has some ‘historical urgency’.”
“60 Minutes doesn’t exist as some lone bright beacon in the wilderness. A 24 year-old guy named Nick Shirley ran 100… pic.twitter.com/bDYrlDkv81
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) June 3, 2026
Following the meeting, Bilton put out a memo pushing back on Pelley.
“Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” he wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News.
“I welcome a diversity of viewpoints and respectful debate among the team, but this was nothing of the sort,” Bilton continued.
“Yesterday’s performative display of hostility—enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation—demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress,” the memo added.
“I am here to deliver first-in-class news programming, not to make headlines about newsroom drama. I am eager to work alongside those who share this goal,” Bilton said.
“Despite yesterday’s misconduct, I had hoped that in sitting down with you today we could find a path forward together. You made clear that you are not interested in such a path,” he continued.
“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” Bilton said.
“I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. (‘CBS’) to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately. Enclosed is your formal termination letter,” said the memo.
Pelley’s dismissal marks the latest high-profile departure from 60 Minutes as the storied news magazine undergoes a sweeping restructuring effort under Paramount’s leadership.
The program has already seen significant turnover in recent months.
Correspondents Sharon Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega both exited the show after management declined to renew Alfonsi’s contract and later terminated Vega.
Despite the decision to part ways with Pelley, Weiss reportedly acknowledged his contributions during an internal newsroom meeting on Wednesday.
According to reports, she praised several of Pelley’s notable pieces for the network, including his reporting on Havana syndrome and a widely discussed interview with former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R), The Hill reported.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
