Email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed]


** OPINION
------------------------------------------------------------


** Just when you thought the CBS News soap opera couldn’t get any more dramatic
------------------------------------------------------------
Former CBS News journalist Scott Pelley, shown here in 2013. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

The drama at CBS News and “60 Minutes” is getting even messier.

Late Tuesday night, revered correspondent Scott Pelley was fired from “60 Minutes.” The firing came one day after an explosive staff meeting in which Pelley questioned the credentials of new executive producer Nick Bilton and accused CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the iconic show.

On Wednesday, the combativeness continued, leaving the future of “60 Minutes” very much in turmoil.

Weiss, who did not attend the fiery Monday meeting in which Bilton was introduced to staff, addressed Pelley’s firing during a Wednesday morning editorial call.

Weiss told staff, “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.”

She continued, “We did not want that to happen, but that's the path that he chose. That unfortunate outcome does not discount from the amazing contributions and work that Scott Pelley has done for CBS and for ‘60 Minutes’ over the course of his career.”

Weiss then reportedly pointed to some of the work that Pelley has done, calling them “unforgettable stories” and ones that “typify ‘60 Minutes,’ and they're the kind of stories that Nick Bilton is going to put on the air come September in Season 59 with the amazing team that's still there and hopefully from some new people that are going to join us.”

Those remain big questions: Who will still be there? And who will be joining the show?

“60 Minutes” had seven correspondents last season, but then Anderson Cooper announced he was leaving. Pelley was fired, along with Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. So that puts the current number of correspondents at three: Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim. In addition, former “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell occasionally contributes. But now there are questions about whether the three correspondents — longtime colleagues of Pelley — will want to stay on what is quickly becoming a zombie version of “60 Minutes.”

CNN’s Brian Stelter writes ([link removed]) , “If the correspondents stay, will they win assurances from management that the show's editorial independence and production quality will be preserved?”

As far as possible new correspondents? Of course, there are many talented journalists out there, but this is “60 Minutes.” It’s not the kind of job that just anyone can slide into. Many former correspondents say it’s a job that requires extensive experience, yet still comes with a steep learning curve. In other words, it can take years for someone, even a talented TV journalist, to grow into an effective “60 Minutes” correspondent.

Appearing on MS NOW on Wednesday, Puck’s Dylan Byers said, “It is very difficult to see how this new leadership is able to usher ‘60 Minutes’ as it has existed in the past into the future. We only have three remaining correspondents there. I know that they currently are deliberating over what they are going to do. It’s very possible that we’re going to arrive at a moment here in a matter of weeks, if not days, where there is no existing talent left at ‘60 Minutes’ and they are going to have to build this back up from scratch.”

Even if some or all of the remaining correspondents return, perhaps the most pressing question for Weiss, Bilton, CBS News as a whole and “60 Minutes” specifically is how audiences will react. The optics are horrible for CBS News. Fans of “60 Minutes” are loyal, dedicated viewers who have a deep attachment to the correspondents on the program.

Whose side do you think they are going to take: the veteran correspondents they’ve grown to trust, particularly Pelley? Or the two executives who previously had no experience in TV news and have effectively blown up the most iconic and important TV news show in American history?

An unnamed TV insider with no ties to CBS gave this insightful quote to Stelter: “Bari Weiss is doing the right thing the wrong way, and it's blowing up in her face. She's 100% correct that CBS News needs to change, and just about everything she's said is directionally accurate. But her fundamental mistake is that CBS News is not a startup and treating it as such is a classic business mistake.”

A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR
[link removed]


** Explore Journalism Business Model & AI at U. of Maryland’s New Webinar Series
------------------------------------------------------------

“The Business of Journalism in the Age of AI” — a new monthly webinar series from the University of Maryland’s nationally renowned Philip Merrill College of Journalism and Robert H. Smith School of Business — explores how the business model of journalism can become more sustainable and how to thrive in the age of AI.

All webinars are Fridays from 12-1 p.m. Sign up for any number of sessions.

REGISTER TODAY! ([link removed])


** Pelley’s response
------------------------------------------------------------

After Pelley’s heated showdown with Bilton on Monday, he had a meeting Tuesday that included Weiss, Bilton and Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. That meeting, reportedly, didn’t go well.

But exactly what happened?

Not long after several outlets reported Weiss’ comments during the Wednesday editorial call, Pelley came out with an aggressive statement ([link removed]) , saying he was “saddened” to see the transcripts. He disputed Weiss' claims and wrote, “There was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back’ as Weiss said in the editorial meeting. 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.”

Pelley said that during the meeting, he pressed Weiss on why she fired “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon, who had been with the show for nearly three decades. He also separately asked about the firings of Vega and Alfonsi.

According to Pelley, after he asked about each of those firings individually, Weiss told him, “I’m not answering that question.”

He said he also asked Weiss why she did not come to the “60 Minutes” office to explain the firings. He said Weiss responded with “I’m not answering that question.”

Pelley then said Cibrowski repeated several times, “This conversation is over!”

Pelley then wrote, “I am pained that the staff of CBS News was misled in the Wednesday morning conference call. These executives cannot gain the trust of the staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything we stand for and reveals contempt for what journalists do.”

There has been plenty of speculation that Pelley went into Monday’s meeting knowing that his pointed criticism could result in his dismissal. At the very least, whether he is right or wrong, he is smart enough to know that his combative remarks during Bilton’s introductory meeting weren’t going to go over well with CBS News leadership.

But, clearly, he wanted to make his objections about the direction of CBS News and “60 Minutes” known. And it seems apparent that he was not just speaking for himself.

In a letter informing Pelley of his dismissal, Bilton described Pelley’s behavior in the Monday meeting as a “performative display of hostility,” adding, “You hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”

Look, if most of us talked to our new bosses the way Pelley did in that meeting, we would be in serious trouble.

However, in this particular case, it is surprising that Weiss, Bilton and Cibrowski actually fired Pelley at this point. Even considering the conflicting reports of the subsequent conversations regarding the future of Pelley and the show, the CBS News executives should have known how this was going to play out.

By firing someone as respected as Pelley, they’ve weakened the show and the network’s credibility and, no doubt, further sabotaged morale inside the newsroom. Maybe, as Weiss has said, there was no path forward, but the wise move would have been to let things cool down for a few days and then revisit the whole thing.

Then again, for Weiss and Bilton, maybe they see the unpleasantness and turmoil of the past few days as worth it if it helps their long-range vision for the network and “60 Minutes.”


** A big concern
------------------------------------------------------------

While many might disagree, Weiss can at least try to contend that CBS News, including “60 Minutes,” needs to look to the future, and that might include parting ways with some of the so-called “old guard” and old ways of doing things. Again, this isn’t an endorsement of that plan, especially when I’d argue that a show such as “60 Minutes” is fine the way it is. But I’m just saying Weiss can argue that she has a mandate to shake things up at CBS News.

What she should be really concerned about, however, are the allegations made by Pelley and Vega on their way out the door.

In his statement Tuesday night after he was fired, Pelley said, “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over ‘60 Minutes’ interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

Those are serious charges.

Meanwhile, after she was fired last week, Vega said in a statement to The New York Times’ ​​Michael M. Grynbaum ([link removed]) , “In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories. Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions. Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy.”

Blowing up the best TV news magazine show of all time is disturbing. But more disturbing? The comments made by Pelley, Vega and others about how the show has been run in recent months.


** ‘CBS Evening News’ pays tribute
------------------------------------------------------------

Despite all the messiness of Pelley’s departure, the “CBS Evening News” did pay tribute to Pelley during Wednesday’s newscast.

Anchor Tony Dokoupil said, “When I started at CBS, Scott Pelley was in this very chair, and still doing a dozen stories a year for ‘60 Minutes.’ And amid all of that, still meeting every new correspondent to share his view of the mission here. He believed freedom of the press, to quote (James] Madison, was ‘the right that guaranteed all the others.’ And the stakes are always that high in that, if you’d made it to CBS News, you were among the best in the world. He worked every single day to live up to that standard.”

The newscast then highlighted some of Pelley’s work.

Dokoupil then said, interestingly, “He was in some ways a man from another era, and that’s not a knock. He didn’t watch the competition, he said, because he knew who he was. A journalist who valued truth at all costs.”


** Here he goes again
------------------------------------------------------------

CNN's Kaitlan Collins, shown here reporting from the White House in 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump has again lost his cool and verbally attacked a frequent target of his ire: a female journalist. This time, it was CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

On Wednesday, Trump was answering a question from another reporter about the proposed $1.8 billion fund for people claiming political persecution. Then, in the middle of his rambling answer, he decided to go after Collins, who was in the room.

Trump went off on CNN, calling it a “very corrupt organization.” Then he referred to Collins as “a corrupt reporter standing right there. Never smiles. You never — she's a young, beautiful woman. Never smiles. I never see a smile off her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes. She has hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted.”

Later, when Collins tried to cut in while Trump was berating CNN and The New York Times, Trump told Collins to “be quiet.” He added, “You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama. Can you believe it?”

That was the president of the United States acting that way.

A CNN spokesperson told Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr in a statement ([link removed]) , “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”


** Media tidbits
------------------------------------------------------------
* NOTUS, the Washington, D.C., nonprofit that will rebrand as The Star this summer, is continuing to beef up in hopes of offering some challenge to The Washington Post. On Wednesday, the publication announced the hiring of three talented Post sportswriters who were pushed out when the Post essentially gutted the sports section during its massive layoffs in February: Dave Sheinin, Jesse Dougherty and Michael Errigo. It has also hired former ESPN and Andscape feature writer Martenzie Johnson. Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen has more details ([link removed]) .
* The Washington Post’s Scott Nover and Liam Scott with “Pentagon is censoring military newspaper Stars and Stripes, lawsuit alleges.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Sapna Maheshwari with “At Glamour, a Once-Mighty Magazine, a Skeleton Crew Churns Out Shopping Links.” ([link removed])
* Loreben Tuquero from Poynter’s PolitiFact with “Does this video show workers removing Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center? No, it’s AI-generated.” ([link removed])
* From the Indianapolis Public Editor project, here’s Tracey Compton with “What we learn about Indy newsrooms by comparing coverage of the Indy 500.” ([link removed])
* Nieman Lab’s Laura Hazard Owen with “These 16 new journalism jobs could help publishers ‘future-proof” their newsrooms.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
------------------------------------------------------------
* Back in April, after polling more than 250 music insiders and six of their music critics, The New York Times published its list of the “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.” ([link removed]) There were many names that you would expect on such a list, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Carole King. But, as with any list, there were those upset by who was left off the list, songwriters such as Billy Joel, Randy Newman and Tom Waits. So the Times gave readers a chance to come up with their own list. More than 25,000 readers voted on their own formal poll to come up with “The Reader Top 100.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
------------------------------------------------------------
* Learn from trusted experts how to create vertical videos that reach and engage your audience. Join a three-part live course starting July 16. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Join a prestigious, fully funded Poynter fellowship that gives journalists rare access to leading experts, personalized coaching and advanced training in brain health and brain science reporting. Apply today. ([link removed])
* Understand the business of journalism and make smarter decisions. Starts July 14. Enroll now. ([link removed])

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here ([link removed]) . And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast ([link removed]) for even more.
[link removed]
Support the journalism that keeps you informed. ([link removed])
GIVE NOW ([link removed])
Thanks to our sponsor [link removed]

ADVERTISE ([link removed]) // DONATE ([link removed]) // LEARN ([link removed]) // JOBS ([link removed])
Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here. ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Feedback%20for%20Poynter
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
© All rights reserved Poynter Institute 2026
801 Third Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
If you don't want to receive email updates from Poynter, we understand.
You can change your subscription preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe from all Poynter emails ([link removed]) .