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CBS fired '60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley after remarks made at staff meeting

Scott Pelley wears an open collar shirt with a jacket in front of a CBS logo.
60 Minutes new executive producer has fired veteran journalist Scott Pelley.
(
Michael Tran
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

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CBS fired veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley late Monday evening after his fiery remarks at a staff meeting held by the program's new executive producer, Nick Bilton, who has never worked in TV news.

Pelley told Bilton that he was "murdering" the program, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversation.

In a statement shared with NPR, Pelley alleges that new management attempted to inject falsehoods, bias, and unverified claims into his reporting — efforts he says he fended off.

It's all part of CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss' effort to wrest control of the network's signature news program. Last week, Weiss fired the show's top executives and forced out two of its correspondents.

With Anderson Cooper's departure, the show is down from seven correspondents to just three.

This story was taken from an audio report by NPR's David Folkenflik. 
Copyright 2026 NPR

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