Former "60 Minutes" Correspondent Scott Pelley Calls for Removal of CBS News Head Bari Weiss

Former "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley told The New York Times that he believes Paramount Skydance should replace Bari Weiss as head of CBS News, arguing that her lack of television experience and her view that mainstream media is biased have harmed the division’s journalism. > "We need adult supervision, and at the moment we don’t have it. We have people who’ve been installed in these jobs who through no fault of their own have no experience in television. They don’t know what they’re doing," Pelley said in the interview with Lulu Garcia‑Navarro. He also claimed a "subtle political bias" has emerged at CBS News that he had not observed during his 37‑year tenure.

Pelley, who was dismissed from CBS News last week after a dispute with Nick Bilton—an editor hired by Weiss following a restructuring that saw senior staff and on‑air correspondents, including Tanya Simon, Dragaan Mihailovich, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, removed—described the changes as damaging, likening the ouster of Simon to a personal tragedy and saying the network was "on fire."

CBS News responded that Weiss’s input on a story involving Minneapolis protests was part of routine editorial discussion and had no political motive, emphasizing the newsroom’s collaborative approach. A spokesperson declined to comment on other aspects of Pelley's remarks.

Weiss, who founded the Free Press organization, has framed the current period as a battle for the division’s relevance, emphasizing the need to attract younger audiences through digital platforms while maintaining traditional programs such as "CBS Sunday Morning" and "CBS Evening News."

Pelley countered that CBS News already reaches online audiences, citing the "60 Minutes Overtime" series launched in 2010 and his own experience producing TikTok‑style segments. He criticized Weiss and Bilton’s focus on digital expansion as "disingenuous," suggesting they appear out of touch with the medium.

When asked if Weiss should be removed, Pelley affirmed, "Oh, gosh, yes. She's a lovely person, and her Free Press organization has been very successful, but television’s not her thing."

He said he intended to remain at "60 Minutes" to influence change from within, noting that the remaining correspondents—Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim—had discussed staying to preserve the program’s principles. Pelley described his clash with Bilton as part of the long‑standing culture of passionate debate at the newsmagazine.

Regarding a segment on the Minneapolis protest killings, Pelley said Weiss’s suggestions seemed to favor the president’s narrative, which he viewed as an unprecedented level of political influence in his decades at CBS News.