Bari Weiss, ’60 Minutes’ chief wanted Scott Pelley to stay before tense clash

According to information obtained by Fox News Digital, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and newly appointed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton made several overtures to the program’s senior correspondent Scott Pelley before his tense showdown with the new boss.

Weiss sent shockwaves through the media world on Thursday with the firing of “60 Minutes” reporters Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as executive producer Tanya Simon; This marked an editorial shift in the long-running newsmagazine program, with Weiss choosing an outsider to lead its way forward.

Before Monday’s staff meeting, in which Pelley had a contentious exchange with Bilton about layoffs, both Weiss and Bilton had reached out to Pelley asking him to remain as a “60 Minutes” correspondent and that he had not contacted them before the war of words unfolded, according to a source familiar with CBS News leadership.

But it’s unclear whether Weiss and Bilton still have the same feelings toward Pelley, especially after Pelley attacked their boss in front of employees.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Pelley and CBS News for comment.

Pelley has a history of being vocal critics of CBS leadership. In April 2025, he targeted the network’s parent company, Paramount, following the resignation of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who claimed he no longer had editorial independence because the company was in mediation talks with President Donald Trump’s legal team to resolve a lawsuit filed in 2024.

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“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete the merger,” Pelley told viewers at the time. “The Trump administration needs to approve this. Paramount began policing our content in new ways. None of our stories were blocked, but Bill felt he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”

“Nobody around here is happy about it, but Bill proved a point by resigning. He was the right person to run ’60 Minutes’ from the beginning,” he added.

The merger referred to Paramount’s $8 billion acquisition last fall by Skydance Media, which is led by Paramount’s new CEO, David Ellison, who appointed Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

“60 Minutes” reporters Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as “60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon, were fired last week as part of a major overhaul of the CBS News program. (Michele Crowe/CBS News©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

Weeks later, he criticized Trump for “futilely” filing lawsuits against journalists and their companies during his commencement speech at Wake Forest University. Trump accused CBS News of election interference over how the network handled his “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount had given Trump an eight-figure deal days before the FCC approved the Paramount-Skydance merger.

“Our previous owners at CBS faced political pressure and collapsed,” Pelley was quoted as saying in March.

In January, the “60 Minutes” veteran panned Weiss and reportedly told colleagues, “She needs to take her job a little more seriously.” The comment came after Weiss clashed with Alfonsi, who accused her of being politically motivated by airing a segment about the notorious Salvadoran prison CECOT just minutes before it went on air in December. It was ultimately published a month later.

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“60 Minutes” reporter Scott Pelley lashed out at his bosses during a tense staff meeting last week over the firings of his colleagues. (David M. Russell/CBS via Getty Images)

Bilton met with staff in a pre-scheduled meeting Monday to discuss the program’s future, but Pelley used the meeting to evict Weiss after Bilton said Weiss loved “60 Minutes,” one of the news industry’s most respected programs.

“He’s killing 60 Minutes. He doesn’t like this place. He was brought in to kill this place and that’s exactly what he’s doing,” Pelley said. The offer was first reported by. Guard Approved by Fox News Digital.

Pelley also told the group that Weiss had “no qualifications for the job” and bluntly informed Bilton, who had no linear television experience, that she had “poor qualifications” for her new role. Before joining “60 Minutes,” Bilton worked as a documentary filmmaker and technology reporter for The New York Times and Vanity Fair.

“So why should we expect these things to get better?” Pelley asked.

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Bickering ensued, according to audio recordings of the meeting obtained by media newsletter Status, and Pelley began asking Bilton questions about why certain “60 Minutes” employees were being terminated, with CBS News executive editor Charles Forelle eventually suggesting Pelley was being rude.

“I’m not being rude… you know what rude was? Black Thursday. That was the absolute definition of rude,” Pelley responded, referring to the firings.

“This is a conversation,” Pelley added. “That’s rude and you were a part of it.”

Nick Bilton, a documentary filmmaker and former technology journalist for The New York Times and Vanity Fair, has been named the new executive producer of “60 Minutes.” (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

As the infighting continued, Bilton suggested that Pelley speak directly with Weiss.

“What I want to do right now is talk about what happens next,” Bilton said, but the “60 Minutes” staff continued to argue.

“You have no idea what my plans are, so I will present them to you. I will present them when the time is right,” Bilton said.

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Pelley didn’t give up and asked his new boss if he knew how the layoffs would play out.

“I’ve been a journalist for 25 years, Scott. I’ve sat and talked with incredibly powerful people like you,” Bilton responded. “None of it scares me, okay? So you’re not going to scare me in front of this group of people.”

Remaining “60 Minutes” reporters include Pelley, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim. Anderson Cooper previously announced he was leaving “60 Minutes” in February after nearly two decades as a correspondent.