Earlier, my RedState colleague Brad Slager reported on a highly contentious all-hands meeting that was held on Monday between "60 Minutes" staffers and the show's new executive producer, Nick Bilton.
To quickly recap, the goal of the meeting was to lay out the path forward for the program under his leadership, which officially started last Thursday, the same day the show's now-former executive producer, Tanya Simon, "along with other top producers and correspondents, including Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega," were fired by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in what's been described as a "bloodbath."
Scott Pelley, a veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent and typical leftist legacy media blowhard, had a meltdown, according to reports, questioning Bilton's credentials and demanding to know the reason behind last week's firings, firings in which Bilton had no role. When Bilton said they should take their conversation private, Pelley refused. Pelley continued to insult both Bilton and Weiss over an alleged lack of experience, telling Bilton that Weiss was "murdering" the program, and that he was curious as to why Bilton decided to take on the role, "knowing that you will never be welcome here."
As one might imagine, Pelley's childish and pompous eruptions did not go over well, and on Tuesday night, he was handed his walking papers, with an immediate effective date:
“[Y]ou hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” Bilton wrote, referring to Monday’s heated face-off between the journo and his boss.
Bilton further accused Pelley of staging a “performative display of hostility” and claimed he had “no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress.”
“I am here to deliver first-in-class news programming, not to make headlines about newsroom drama,” Bilton wrote.
Bilton also noted that one of the first things he did upon arrival last week was to call Pelley and invite him to dinner so they could talk, an offer Pelley did not accept. In other words, Pelley chose Monday to grandstand, peacock, and attempt to throw his weight around instead of having a civil one-on-one conversation.
#BREAK: CBS NEWS has terminated Scott Pelley's contract. pic.twitter.com/vbXyX8PBBv
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) June 3, 2026
SEE ALSO: More, Please: Bari Weiss Effect Seen in Key Change to CBS News Piece on Minneapolis ICE Incident
Puck News senior correspondent Dylan Byers also shared the backstory on X regarding what immediately preceded the decision to terminate Pelley's employment for cause:
Bari Weiss, Nick Bilton, Tom Cibrowski, and CBS HR invited Scott Pelley to a meeting at 5pm ET tonight to discuss a path forward after his vocal protest earlier this week in the 60 Minutes all-hands.
The two sides did not find common ground. Bari & Co. were left with sense that Scott was not open minded about reaching detente; meanwhile, Scott maintained strong frustrations with leadership.
Scott left meeting and was told they'd have an update on his employment in a matter of minutes... instead, Bari and her team deliberated for several hours.
At around 9:30 p.m., Nick Bilton, the new 60 Minutes E.P., sent this letter to Scott (see tweet below) in which he tells him he has been terminated "for cause." He also sent a memo to staff (see tweet below that).
The language in Nick's memo suggests a legal fight coming. No response yet from Pelley.
I agree with Brad's assessment in his earlier write-up that it's almost like Pelley was angling to get fired, because if there's anything members of the corporate press love to do more than display their liberal bias, it's to pretend to be the victim in situations like these.
That said, I don't care who you are or how much seniority you've built up; if you walk in with the goal to mess with the bull, you'd better expect to get the horns, and then some, and that's exactly what happened here.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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