Scott Pelley found himself at the center of various headlines this past summer following his firing from his longtime post at 60 Minutes. It was reported in June that the veteran journalist had a tense meeting with the series’ then-relatively new executive producer, Nick Bilton. During that conversation, Pelley apparently accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the news magazine show. Pelley was let go days later, and he’s now opening up about what happened in the immediate aftermath of his firing.
For over 25 years, Pelley served as a correspondent for 60 Minutes, reporting on a wide range of topics in that time. His firing, however, marked a rare instance in which he himself was part of the news, and that was a point made during a recent interview. Pelley recently spoke with Illinois State University’s WGLT and discussed his career as well as the state of journalism. When asked about what it was like having his name “in the headline,” Pelley began by discussing what occurred in the lead-up to CBS News cutting ties with him:
Well, it was surprising and it was sudden. We had been fighting a battle at 60 Minutes for more than a year trying to maintain the independence that we had had from our corporate owners, independence that we'd had for decades. The new owners didn't see it that way and they wanted to influence our scripts, influence our reporting.
The corporate details Pelley (which on YouTube) seem to allude to the formation of Paramount Skydance in 2025, which saw David Ellison serve as CEO. Last year, there were reports that various changes were happening at 60 Minutes under the new management and that some employees were unhappy. Pelley said that “for more than a year, the writing was on the wall.” The former CBS Evening News anchor then segued into his actually firing and how it led to an unusual situation for him (and his wife):
When they fired me for standing up for the people who had stood up for me at the broadcast and protected my stories and refused to kill my stories, I was, like I said, very surprised. I suddenly became the center of all of that reporting. And my colleagues in the press were camped out at the end of my driveway, waiting for me to come out and say something. My wife actually took one of the photographers to lunch one day. [laughs] So I appreciate my colleagues in the press. I understand they were just doing their jobs. But it was a crazy time.
Scott Pelley Has Advice For CNN Staffers After Paramount Merger And Issues With CBS And Bari Weiss
Scott Pelley hasn’t held back his thoughts about the state of 60 Minutes and CBS News as a whole. Not long after his firing, he criticized Bari Weiss and the leadership team and argued that the organization needed some “adult supervision." Pelley also didn’t mince words about the staff meeting that was held shortly after May 28, which saw other show alums like Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega were fired.
As indicated by his comments from the WGLT interview, Pelley has also made claims of editorial interference against his former bosses. Vega and others have also made similar claims about supposedly being asked to inject bias into their reporting. Weiss and co. have denied claims of journalistic interference. While Pelley isn’t pleased with the state of his former workplace or how his tenure there ended, he still feels a sense of gratitude:
I have such warmth in my heart for the 27 years that I was allowed to do 60 Minutes in the right way. And I feel that the way it's being done now is just was going to shock my conscience even further. And that if they hadn't have fired me, I probably would have quit by now.
Amid its ongoing 59th season, 60 Minutes has reportedly been experiencing ratings troubles. Bari Weiss recently addressed concerns during a public conversation and asserted that the show had been doing “tremendously well.” As for Scott Pelley, he’s stated on a few recent occasions that he hasn’t watched the show since his firing.
