Exclusive | Scott Pelleys attack on new 60 Minutes boss Nick Bilton divides CBS News: This was a set up

Scott Pelley’s brazen attack on the new boss of ’60 Minutes’ has divided staffers at CBS News, with some insiders branding his behavior as “bullying” and “grandstanding” — and yet another reckoning it was “a set up,” The Post has learned. Pelley laced into Nick Bilton, the new executive producer of “60 Minutes” on Monday during a meet-and-greet with staffers, calling out the boss’ lack of TV experience, challenging his vision and telling him he will “never be welcomed here.”“What did he accomplish?” one CBS source said of Pelley’s explosive attack.“He embarrassed the company and the leadership.”Network sources said Bilton and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss had tried to speak privately ahead of the meeting with Pelley — who was fuming about the network’s firing of “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon and other top producers last week.“This was a set up.

This was Scott going off for show,” the insider opined.“This was just a show.

He wants to stand up for journalism and maybe get fired but what does it change?”A second source agreed that Pelley’s tactics were “problematic,” noting that the correspondent should have met with Weiss or Bilton to at least to hear them out.“That grandstanding thing is insane.It’s third-grade, playground bullying stuff,” the source said.

“This is not the way you conduct yourself.”“You’re not taking down a dictator or someone who has committed war crimes,” the source added.“You’re not interviewing Saddam Hussein.

It was a little bit overkill.”It remains unclear how CBS intends to react to Pelley’s tirade.As previously reported by The Post, Pelley has another year left on his contract and makes around $5 million a year.

Sources speculated that the network is likely loathe to pay Pelley $5 million to quit.Ultimately, the decision rests with David Ellison, the CEO of CBS owner Paramount Skydance.A...