“60 Minutes” is done shedding correspondents — at least for now.
Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim announced on Friday that they’re staying at the storied news program after a tumultuous few weeks. Four “60 Minutes” correspondents have left or been fired as Bari Weiss, the top editor at CBS News, remakes the organization.
“We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die,” Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim said in a memo, which was viewed by Business Insider.
The correspondents’ decision to stay comes three days after fellow veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley was fired following a dispute with new executive producer Nick Bilton, in which Pelley confronted his new boss and Weiss.
Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim said they “had a hard time deciding whether to stay” at CBS News’ flagship program. They said they were disappointed that “principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency.”
“Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships,” they wrote.
Besides Pelley, CBS News also parted ways with a pair of “60 Minutes” correspondents in late May, declining to renew Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract and firing Cecilia Vega.
Weiss told CBS News staffers on an editorial call following Pelley’s firing that she’s “only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect,” adding that “we cannot do our work without it.”
Bilton told CBS staffers on Thursday afternoon that it “has been a trying and difficult few days” and said he’s committed to “journalistic independence” at “60 Minutes.”
Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim said they “heard all the right things” in Bilton’s memo but said they “need to see these commitments to our process and procedures put into action.”
“If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is — committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling — we’re here for it. If not, we leave,” they wrote.
CBS News has plenty of skeptics under Weiss
Weiss was hired by David Ellison, the CEO of the CBS parent company Paramount Skydance, to remake the network for the streaming era. She has since made a digital push and cut dozens of staffers.
Her critics also say she’s making the network more politically palatable to President Donald Trump, though she has broadly denied this.
Alfonsi said in an exit memo that CBS News leadership’s decision to let her go “was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting,” referencing her dispute with Weiss in December over reporting about the Trump administration’s deportation tactics. Weiss sidelined Alfonsi’s segment, saying she wanted more commentary from a Trump official, but it eventually ran without major changes.
Alfonsi added that her dismissal “sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom.”
Vega said in her exit memo that her termination was because of “censorship, both imposed and self-driven.” She said that she and her peers had “experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories” from CBS News leadership, which the network denies.
Longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper also recently decided to leave the news program, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. He’s staying in his role at CNN.
Read the full memo from Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim here.
TO All our colleagues at 60 FROM Lesley, Bill and Jon We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay at 60 Minutes. We’re still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya and Draggan, strong leaders who everyone respected. As far as we can tell — because no explanation has ever been offered, they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at 60. Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud passionate advocacy for our pieces. This goes for Sharyn, Cecilia and Scott as well, all at the top of the world of TV journalism who exemplified 60 Minutes’ ethos of tough questions and honest storytelling. And Guy Campanile, an outstanding 60 Minutes producer whose advice on our stories was invaluable. And Matt Polevoy, who ran our online operations, moved us onto YouTube, was working on developing 60 Minutes Podcasts and many other projects expanding our presence on the Web: vital and necessary for our future. We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency. Tanya deserves to be celebrated, not cruelly cast off. Draggan too. It’s been heartbreaking. But, we have decided to stay on. We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case. Here’s why we’re are staying: We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die. We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast. We want to stay and fight, try to repair and preserve our reputation by continuing the Mike Wallace tradition of hold their feet to the fire as well as Morley’s brand of quirky off-kilter reports like his on why people in Finland like to tango! It’s early days, but we are working to build trust with Nick, and we are heartened by Maria’s promotion. We heard all the right things in yesterday’s “independence” memo. It went a long way, and now we need to see these commitments to our process and procedures put into action. If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is — committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling — we’re here for it. If not, we leave. For now we’re staying — for our audience, the millions who watch us with a loyal but critical eye. We’re staying for our teams, and all the teams. We work for you guys. The thought of abandoning you became unbearable. And of course we’re staying because this is home. Here’s to season 59!
