Former “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley accused CBS News chief Bari Weiss of tilting coverage in favor of how President Donald Trump characterized events in Minnesota and described a newsroom in turmoil under her leadership during an emotional New York Times interview published Sunday.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In his first interview since being fired last week, Pelley alleged Weiss attempted to influence a politically sensitive “60 Minutes” report on immigration protests in Minneapolis and said her intervention amounted to editorial interference he had never before experienced at CBS News.“There was a thumb on the scale for the president’s version of events that I felt was a level of political influence that I had never seen in 37 years at CBS News,” Pelley told The New York Times.Pelley said the dispute centered on a “60 Minutes” segment about the confrontation between protesters and federal agents during immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.According to Pelley’s account, Weiss sent notes on the segment after it had already been approved for broadcast.He said one request was to portray protesters as more violent and another involved the description of the circumstances around Good’s death.“Two of the things in the email include, can we make the protesters look more violent? Now, I’m paraphrasing.
I don’t have the quote, but that’s what was communicated to me,” Pelley said.“And the other thing, Renee Good’s car.
You need to describe her as driving toward the officer.”Pelley said he and his producer had already “gone out of our way” to include footage showing protesters behaving violently, including confrontations with law enforcement.He said they also reviewed video of the shooting involving Good and concluded it did not support the characterization Weiss wanted to inc...