“60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton pressed ahead Tuesday with plans to speak individually with staff members, a day after correspondent Scott Pelley confronted him during a heated meeting, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Bilton, a documentary filmmaker and technology journalist, laid out those plans during a meeting with “60 Minutes” employees on Monday morning.But that gathering was overshadowed by Pelley’s fiery criticism of Bilton and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.Pelley, speaking firmly and at times angrily, told Bilton that Weiss was “murdering” the venerable broadcast newsmagazine, a staple of the CBS lineup since 1958.
“She does not love this place,” Pelley told Bilton, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.“She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”CBS News spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday’s round of one-on-one meetings and Monday’s gathering of employees.
The Guardian first reported on the exchange between Pelley and Bilton.A former “60 Minutes” veteran told NBC News that the atmosphere was “funereal” on Tuesday.“It’s devastating,” added the veteran, who said they have spoken with multiple current staffers.Pelley also pressed Bilton on the recent firings of former executive producer Tanya Simon and fellow correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, decisions that Bilton said predated him.
The group of “60 Minutes” employees who lost their jobs last week included Draggan Mihailovich, the executive editor, and Matthew Polevoy, a senior producer, the source said."60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley.Michele Crowe / CBS via Getty ImagesAlfonsi had publicly clashed with Weiss late last year over the decision to postpone a “60 Minutes” segment about the Trump administration’s deportation of Ve...