CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, speaking to network employees Wednesday about the firing of “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, said newsroom leaders could not “find a way back” with the veteran journalist — a comment he flatly rejected in a statement of his own.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The back-and-forth illustrated the turmoil engulfing “60 Minutes,” America’s top-rated and most prestigious newsmagazine.The upheaval started last Thursday with the ouster of key senior staff members and deepened on Monday when Pelley, a 37-year veteran of CBS, laced into the newly installed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton at a heated meeting.“I hope I speak, I know I speak for myself, and I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect.
We cannot do our work without it,” Weiss told CBS News employees Wednesday.“That foundation was broken on Monday, and despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately we weren’t able to do so, and so we had to part ways.” “We did not want that to happen, but that’s the path that he chose,” Weiss added.In a written statement, Pelley forcefully pushed back on Weiss’ comments, saying in part: “I’m saddened to see the transcript of the CBS News morning editorial meeting.
Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true.” “In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back,’ as Weiss said in the editorial meeting,” Pelley said.“At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution.”CBS News spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pelley’s statement.CBS News terminated Pelley’s contract late Tuesday, a day aft...