Scott Pelley Fired From 60 Minutes After Confronting New Executive Producer in Front of Staff
Scott Pelley has been fired from CBS News after 37 years at the network, one day after a heated confrontation with 60 Minutes' new executive producer in front of the show's staff.
CBS News fired the veteran 60 Minutes correspondent on Tuesday, one day after he sharply criticized the news program's new leadership in front of the staff. The firing followed a fiery confrontation with new executive producer Nick Bilton, according to two people familiar with the matter.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss said Wednesday that her leadership team had tried to reconcile with Pelley, but "we weren't able to do so." Pelley said that wasn't true, reaffirming that he will not go quietly from the network where he worked for 37 years.
What Happened at the Staff Meeting
During the heated meeting, Pelley asked new 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton what qualified him for the position. Bilton was installed as executive producer as part of Weiss's broader overhaul of CBS News following its merger with Skydance Media under new CEO David Ellison.
The confrontation came after months of escalating tension between Pelley and the new CBS News leadership. In January, Pelley had publicly criticized Weiss after she pulled a 60 Minutes segment covering migrants sent to the El Salvador prison CECOT hours before it was set to air. During a 60 Minutes staff meeting the day after that decision, Pelley expressed frustration that Weiss hadn't attended any of the screenings of the segment or communicated directly with correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. "She needs to take her job a little bit more seriously," he said.
The Firings Before Pelley
Pelley's firing is sure to trigger even more scrutiny of Weiss and her controversial efforts to overhaul the network news division. It will also force CBS into rebuilding mode since 60 Minutes has now lost the majority of its full-time correspondents.
Last week, Weiss oversaw the firings of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon and other senior staffers.
The Broader Context
The turmoil at 60 Minutes and CBS News traces back to Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance Media — a deal that required the Trump administration's regulatory approval. Paramount settled a lawsuit brought by President Trump against the network ahead of the merger closing, a move that many inside CBS News viewed as a significant compromise of editorial independence.
Pelley had lamented the earlier resignations of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who left in protest, as well as CBS News President Wendy McMahon, calling both of them "the most outstanding leaders in journalism I have known throughout my career."
As recently as December 2025, Pelley had publicly stated that 60 Minutes had experienced "no corporate interference of any kind" under the new ownership — a statement that, in retrospect, preceded a cascade of firings and confrontations that would cost him his own job six months later.
Pelley worked at CBS News for 37 years. He anchored the CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017 and had been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 2004.
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