60 Minutes looked a lot different when it returned to the 2026 TV schedule for its 59th season back in September. That was in great part due to a creative overhaul that took place over the summer and saw several key employees fired from their positions. Since then, a few of those former staffers have spoken out about their oustings and the state of the news magazine under the leadership of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. Now, Cecilia Vega is sharing her take and revealing one detail that still bothers her.
Since its season premiere, 60 Minutes has been at the center of various headlines, with a number of those pertaining to low ratings compared to past seasons of the show. On top of that, there have been ongoing claims of editorial interference on Weiss’ part. Vega made such claims in July and alleged that she was pressured to exude what she considered to be bias into her stories. As for her feelings on the show now, Vega said during a talk in Washington D.C. (via The Daily Beast) that she wasn’t pleased:
It pains me. It hurts to watch, from afar. It hurts to talk to my colleagues who are still there. It hurts to see the ratings slump that is happening right now.
Regarding the ratings, it was recently reported that the October 25th broadcast of 60 drew 5.6 million viewers. That marked a notable decrease for the show, which reportedly averaged 9.1 million viewers during Season 58. Weiss recently addressed the concerns during a tech panel and asserted that the show was still doing “tremendously well.” The Free Press founder, who’s denied editorial bias, also said she’d been aiming to block out the backlash against CBS News and her changes on the previously mentioned news program.
The staff firings took place on May 28, 2026, which apparently became known as “Black Thursday” internally. On that day, Vega was fired alongside others like fellow correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, former 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich. Shortly after, veteran correspondent Scott Pelley was fired as well after accusing Weiss of “murdering” the show. As for Vega, one thing still gives her pause about her exit from the series and the media company as a whole:
I still don’t know why I was fired. I was not given a reason. I was fired without cause. I just find it exceptionally disturbing.
Pelley recalled the staff meeting that was held shortly after his 60 Minutes colleagues and others were fired. The veteran newsman recalled everyone expecting Weiss to be at the meeting but were surprised to find that only series EP Nick Bilton was present. According to Pelley, employees were even more unhappy after Bilton started reading a statement from his phone without looking up at anyone. Months later, Vega seems to have a lot of respect for Pelley and others who have “held the line” or those who are still trying to at CBS:
I held the line, and Scott held the line, and Sharyn held the line, and I think people are still holding the line over there. But what they are having to go through, or what we had to go through, should never happen in a newsroom.
Questions remain in regard to what lies ahead for 60 Minutes and CBS News as a whole under Bari Weiss’ leadership. Additionally, there are more variables to consider following the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which has birthed Skydance. Cecilia Vega, for her part, says she’s unaware of the “endgame” and thinks “it’s a real mystery.”
