Scott Pelley criticizes CBS chief Bari Weiss over ’60 Minutes’ controversy
CBS News defends pulling of 60 Minutes story
Political commentator Terry Schilling joined America Reports to react to CBS News, defending the removal of a 60 Minutes story and how viewers’ trust in legacy media has waned.
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CBS “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley reportedly argued that CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss should take her job “more seriously” following the fallout from filming her “60 Minutes” segment last month.
On Monday, The New Yorker reported ongoing tensions within the network since Weiss officially took over in October through its parent company, Paramount Skydance, under new CEO David Ellison. Tensions rose after “60 Minutes” abruptly pulled a segment covering immigrants sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador prison CECOT, hours before it was to air.
Highlighted article A meeting among program staff the day after the decision, in which Pelley allegedly addressed the new leadership.
BARI WEISS SUGGESTS THE STAFF THAT THE ’60 MINUTES’ SECTION OF CECOT, WHICH HE DELAYED IN THE MEMO, IS NOT ‘FAIR’
“60 Minutes” reporter Scott Pelley reportedly criticized Bari Weiss’ leadership after she cut a news segment. (David M. Russell/CBS via Getty Images)
“[D]At a ’60 Minutes’ staff meeting, longtime reporter Scott Pelley expressed disappointment that Weiss had not attended any screenings of the episode or contacted him directly. [’60 Minutes’ correspondent Sharyn] Alfonsi. ‘He needs to take his job a little more seriously,’ he said in the article.
This marked a shift in Pelley’s perspective since his previous comments ahead of the debate about how new leadership was affecting “60 Minutes” last month.
“However, that season, last season, all of our stories went on the air. We put them all on the air,” Pelley said on Dec. 12. “We got them on the air with the absolute minimum of intervention, nothing for anyone in this room to panic about. I mean, our company is the new Paramount, and all of us at ’60 Minutes’ were very concerned about what this meant.”
STEPHEN MILLER CALLS FOR FIRES OF CBS PRODUCERS FOR SHELFING TRUMP’S EXTRAORDINARY STORY EPISODE
Paramount’s new owner, David Ellison, appointed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News in October. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images; James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for Free Press)
“It’s still early, but what I can tell you is that we’re doing the same kinds of stories with the same rigor, and we haven’t encountered any corporate interference. This has been a great way to start this season,” he continued.
Fox News Digital has reached out to CBS News for comment.
The New Yorker also claimed that a former CBS employee wrote an open letter to Ellison expressing concerns about “a breakdown in editorial control” resulting from Weiss’ decision. An unnamed former CBS executive reportedly told the broadcaster that pulling the “60 Minutes” segment risked accusations of “corporate interference.”
’60 MINUTES’ CORRESPONDENT FIGHTS BARI WEISS AFTER BREAKING NEWS IN EL SALVADOR PRISON SECTION
“When someone sees the promotion on air, they call and wonder if they spent more time because there was a big complaint?” the manager reportedly said this.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has faced backlash from liberal commentators for her decisions at the network. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and Free Press)
Sources added that Weiss “immediately realized and admitted that he was not as knowledgeable as he should have been about the timing of the marketing and promotional process on ’60 Minutes.'”
“He sometimes brings the chaotic energy and work ethic of a startup, but he also realizes he needs to work on having more administrative discipline,” sources said.
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The “60 Minutes” episode titled “Inside CECOT” finally aired Sunday night.
