CBS News has fired veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, marking a major shake-up for the network.
The termination followed a heated staff meeting on Monday where Pelley confronted the show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, regarding recent layoffs and the direction of the program.
During the meeting, Pelley criticized the leadership of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. According to reports, Pelley stated:
“She’s murdering 60 Minutes” and added “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.” He also questioned Bilton’s qualification for his new role.
By Tuesday evening, Bilton informed Pelley he was “terminated for cause.”
In a letter to Pelley, Bilton wrote that the veteran journalist had “hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”
Bilton also noted that his attempt to find common ground with Pelley earlier in the day failed because “That was not the path Scott chose.”
This departure comes amid widespread turmoil at the network which has recently seen the exits of several other key staff members and correspondents ahead of the show’s 59th season.
