UPDATED: Scott Pelley was fired from 60 Minutes and CBS News on Tuesday evening, following a verbal confrontation with the show’s new executive producer in which the veteran correspondent blasted the news division leadership.
“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately,” Bilton wrote in a letter to Pelley, below.
Per the letter sent to Pelley, he met with Bilton earlier on Tuesday, but “we could not find a path forward together. You made clear you are not interested in such a path.”
On Monday, Pelley challenged Bilton as he introduced himself to staff, telling the former tech writer that his boss, CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, was “murdering” the show. Weiss had set her sights on an overhaul of 60 Minutes, firing not just correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega but executive producer Tanya Simon and other top producers.
Pelley is a 37-year veteran of CBS News, who has served as chief White House correspondent and as anchor of the CBS Evening News.
His firing leaves open the question of just what the show will look like next season, and if other correspondents will remain with the program. But it also will put further pressure on Bilton and Weiss, for upending a show that actually improved its ratings performance in the past season, as one of the top rated programs on broadcast TV. And within CBS News, there is confusion and distrust at leadership decisions.
Like Alfonsi, Deadline has learned that Pelley has had conversations with Bryan Freedman, a well-known litigator who has represented other news media personalities, about representation. Bilton’s reference to Pelley’s termination “for cause” was a signal that the network was aware of the legal implications of his firing.
Pelley told The New York Times after he was informed of his termination, “I have been in combat in Afghanistan. I have been in combat in Iraq. I have been in the war zone in Ukraine multiple times, risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast.”
After Pelley’s meeting with CBS brass earlier in the day, Weiss held an emergency meeting with news division leadership to decide how to move forward.
While Pelley earned praise from 60 Minutes veterans for speaking out about the firings last week, Bilton wrote that “you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt. I welcome a diversity of viewpoints and respectful debate among the team, but this was nothing of the sort.”
At the Monday meeting, as Bilton tried to dismiss some rumors about his plans, Pelley said of Weiss, “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 added, “She has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. 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?”
Following the firings of Alfonsi and Vega, and the earlier departure of Anderson Cooper, the show’s remaining correspondents are Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and L. Jon Wertheim, with Norah O’Donnell a contributing correspondent.
It’s unclear whether additional correspondents will be hired on the show, as the network has gone through a couple of rounds of cost-cutting layoffs.
At the very least, Pelley’s confrontation and firing will likely only add to the scrutiny of the news division and whether it is being influenced by corporate concerns. CBS-parent Paramount is in the midst of seeking Trump administration approval for its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and its CEO David Ellison has, among other things, hosted a dinner for Trump tied to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, and he attended the president’s State of the Union address.
Bilton also wrote a letter to the staff of the show, below.
Team,
You should hear this from me first. We have parted ways with Scott Pelley.
I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don’t say this lightly. I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose.
What I regret most is that this situation interfered with the conversation I had hoped to have with you about Season 59 and the future of this show. I realize this is a great deal of change in a very short time, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise.
I won’t relitigate the last week with you here. What I will commit to is this: My unyielding support for each of you, the journalism that you do and what we will do together going forward.
Nick
PREVIOUSLY, EXCLUSIVE, 6:19 p.m. PT: Bari Weiss and CBS News leadership were said to be in an emergency meeting on Tuesday to decide how to move forward on 60 Minutes following an extraordinary clash between Scott Pelley and the show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton at an all staff meeting this week.
Pelley has earned praise from 60 Minutes veterans and others at the network for challenging a series of firings from the top rated broadcast, amid concerns that it future direction is being influenced by corporate concerns.
An insider source described the situation as “unsustainable,” with management believing that Pelley had created a “hostile workplace environment.”
On Monday, Pelley challenged Bilton as he introduced himself to staff, telling the former tech writer that his boss, CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, was “murdering” the show. Weiss had set her sights on an overhaul of 60 Minutes, firing not just correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega but executive producer Tanya Simon and other top producers.
“There is a lot of love for Scott here, a lot of respect for what he has done over the years. But what happened this week is unacceptable,” a management insider said. As of now, the feeling is that “everything is up for discussion.”
Like Alfonsi, Deadline has learned that Pelley has had conversations with Bryan Freedman, a well-known litigator who has represented other news media personalities, about representation.
Puck reported earlier on Tuesday that Pelley met with CBS News leadership but that the two sides did not find common ground.
If Pelley were to exit, it would mark the end of a 37-year career at the network, with stints as chief White House correspondent and as anchor of the CBS Evening News.
At the Monday meeting, as Bilton tried to dismiss some rumors about his plans, Pelley said of Weiss, “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 added, “She has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. 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?”
Pelley’s remarks received praise from the show’s former executive producer, Bill Owens, who said at an event at the New York Press Club on Monday night that he “couldn’t be prouder of him.” He said that Pelley “can smell a fraud a mile away.”
If Pelley were to leave, his departure would leave Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and L. Jon Wertheim as full time correspondents for the show, with Norah O’Donnell as contributing correspondent.
A CBS News spokesperson has not commented on Tuesday’s meeting.
