As changes continue to unfold at CBS News, there have reportedly been internal discussions involving the direction of 60 Minutes. The past few months have seen both correspondents and producers let go from the long-running news program, and that apparently came to a head during a recent meeting. Series veteran Scott Pelley had a meeting with EP Nick Bilton earlier this week and allegedly said the powers that be were “murdering” the show. Now, a former producer is defending Pelley’s sentiments.
Pelley’s comments were specifically aimed at Bari Weiss, who was named the editor-in-chief of CBS News in December 2025 and has instituted significant changes thus far. During his conversation with Bilton, Pelley also reportedly claimed Weiss was “brought in to kill” 60 Minutes and that she had “no qualifications” for the job. Former series producer Bill Owens weighed in on his longtime colleague’s sentiments during a New York Press Club event. Owens (via Deadline) empathized with Pelley’s frustration, saying:
[Scott] can smell fraud a mile away…. He stood up the way that I did a year ago and I couldn’t be prouder of him, and I know all the people at 60 Minutes couldn’t be prouder of him.
Owens notably stepped down as the executive producer of 60 in April 2025, with that decision reportedly prompted by a fear of losing editorial autonomy. During that time, Pelley also addressed Owens’ departure after 26 years as well as the other BTS changes happening at the show. Pelley said “Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires” and that the decision was “hard” for Owens. During his recent public appearance, Owens also talked about journalists recently being fired from the show:
They were fired by people who don’t even know what we do, who don’t actually care. But they did out in a tech columnist as the next executive producer of 60 Minutes, who has never worked in television news and thinks that 60 Minutes can be better. He said that he had a notebook full of ideas. But he wanted to point out to staff that there needed to be a commitment to fairness, in story selection, in the edit room, and in the broadcast. [Pause] Right.
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Several notable on-camera and behind-the-camera staffers have been let go from the Don Hewitt-created show as of late. In the last week, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega were fired, while former EP Tanya Simon was replaced by Bilton. The show also made headlines when longtime correspondent Anderson Cooper exited the show, as his work the series was reportedly affecting his personal time. While he cited a desire for a better work-life balance as a reason for stepping down, Cooper also notably expressed his hope that the show’s core values would stay the same.
The direction of 60 Minutes – and CBS News as a whole – has been questioned since Bari Weiss was named as its leader by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Known for taking issue with legacy media entities, Weiss has made editorial decisions that have garnered backlash thus far. In regard to 60, she made headlines in December for her last-minute decision to pull a story revolving around the Trump Administration’s alleged handling of migrants being sent to a prison in El Salvador.
Weiss reportedly has other ideas for the news media brand, including a supposed talk show that would rival The View. As of right now, it’s been alleged that Weiss’ job is “safe,” despite the backlash she’s faced. Like Scott Pelley, though, Bill Owens doesn’t seem bullish about the changes Weiss – a former opinion writer – is making at 60 Minutes and CBS News. Owens later opined to attendees at the press event that those aforementioned brands are “institutions” and “not places where partisans and ideologues should be employed.”
