CBS News fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday evening. The termination comes amid a ruthless corporate overhaul triggered by David Ellison’s Skydance acquisition of Paramount. Newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton fired Pelley “for cause” following a hostile Monday morning staff meeting.
Pelley publicly confronted Bilton in front of the production team. He criticized the tech journalist’s “slender qualifications” and pointed out his total lack of traditional broadcast experience. The veteran anchor also targeted absent CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. According to the room, Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering ’60 Minutes'” and claimed she “was brought in to kill it.”
Bilton did not wait long to act. His formal termination letter cited Pelley for demonstrating “incivility and contempt.” Bilton wrote that Pelley hijacked the staff meeting with a “performative display of hostility.” The conflict did not stay secret for long. Several leaked audio recordings quickly surfaced, capturing the direct quotes and mounting tension between the legacy broadcast team and the new management.
Weiss took over as Editor-in-Chief in October 2025 and immediately started tearing down the existing structure. Staff recently survived what they dubbed “Black Thursday.” That purge eliminated former “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon alongside correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Bilton arrived shortly after to build a new approach for the Sunday night staple.
Pelley started at CBS News in 1989 and joined “60 Minutes” in 2004. Former executive producer Jeff Fager defended his longtime colleague late Tuesday. Fager called Pelley the “heart and soul” of the program and referred to him as “the present-day Mike Wallace.”
The broadcast roster is now incredibly thin. With Anderson Cooper departing earlier this year, Pelley’s sudden exit leaves just three full-time correspondents heading into Season 59. Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and L. Jon Wertheim remain to anchor the legacy newsmagazine.