Turmoil at 60 Minutes began with the ouster of executive producer Tanya Simon and deepened with the departures of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. In April, Bill Owens stepped down, explaining he no longer had control over the show as it had become evident he “would not be allowed to run the show as [he had] always run it” or make “independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes.”
“So, having defended this show – and what we stand for – from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” Owens added in the memo.
Anderson Cooper also bid farewell to 60 Minutes after 20 years to prioritize his family.
Then, on June 2, Bilton released a memo announcing Pelley was “terminated for cause effective immediately” after the longtime anchor allegedly “hijacked” his first meeting with staff to “disparage” Bilton, his qualifications, and his “intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”
“I welcome a diversity of viewpoints and respectful debate among the team, but this was nothing of the sort,” the new executive producer lashed out at Pelley.
Weiss also issued a separate statement after Pelley’s firing, which read, “I hope I speak, I know I speak for myself, and I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect. We cannot do our work without it. That foundation was broken on Monday, and despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately, we weren’t able to do so, and so we had to part ways. We did not want that to happen, but that’s the path that he chose.”
Pelley vehemently rejected Weiss’ comments and said she “knows what she said is not true.”
“In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back,’ as Weiss said in the editorial meeting,” he claimed. “At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution.”