"60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley had a heated confrontation with his new boss on Monday, scolding CBS News for "murdering" the iconic program. Last week, CBS News fired "60 Minutes" correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, along with the program’s executive producer Tanya Simon and other behind-the-scenes staffers.
Nick Bilton, a documentary filmmaker and a former New York Times columnist, was selected by the network's polarizing editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to serve as the new EP. Bilton met with the remaining staff on Monday in a pre-planned meeting to discuss the show’s future, but Pelley used the gathering to unload on Weiss after Bilton said Weiss loved "60 Minutes," one of the news business' most revered programs. "She’s murdering 60 Minutes.
She does not love this place.She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that," Pelley said.
The quote was first reported by The Guardian and confirmed by Fox News Digital. SHARYN ALFONSI OUT AT ’60 MINUTES' AFTER FEUD WITH BARI WEISS, RIPS CBS FOR ‘CHILLING MESSAGE’ TO NEWSROOM"60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley.(David M.
Russell/CBS via Getty Images)Weiss, who was named editor-in-chief of CBS News in October after her outlet, The Free Press, was acquired by new Paramount CEO David Ellison, has attempted to tamp down the network’s liberal approach to the news.She overhauled "CBS Evening News" by tapping Tony Dokoupil as its new anchor and made "60 Minutes" her next target while the show is on a summer hiatus. Status, a left-leaning media newsletter that is frequently critical of Weiss, obtained audio of Bilton’s disastrous meeting with staffers.
Fox News Digital has confirmed the quotes published by Status are accurate. Pelley also told the group that Weiss has "no qualifications for her job" and bluntly informed Bilton, who has no linear television experience, that he has "slender qualifications" for his new role. Pelley, who has been critical of Weiss and CBS pa...