The last few weeks have been like the last few weeks in American broadcast journalism.
in 60 minutesthe most popular television news program of the era, began Taylor Sheridan-level drama. Nine or ten million viewers a week on the linear network alone, yet executive producer Tanya Simone was fired. Reporters Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi were fired. And when Nick Bilton, a magazine and documentary journalist brought in by new CBS News editor-in-chief Barry Weiss to replace Simon, looked like he might calm the waters at an introductory staff meeting on Monday, he faced a major public stripping from reporter Scott Pelley. (The word “murder” was invoked in the show.) Two days later, Billy was fired. That prompted a CBS News anchor to pay tribute to him on air Wednesday, like a fallen soldier.
What do we make of chaos? What game are Weiss and Belton playing? Was Billy heading towards martyrdom or just anger? What will the in-depth news magazine look like when it returns in the fall? Hollywood Reporter Senior editors Alex Weprin and Steven Zaitchik came together to shed some light on the mysterious photo.
Steven Zaitchik: Just a few quiet days in David Ellison’s kingdom, nothing to see here.
Alex Weprin: It’s really kind of crazy.
sz: Let’s start with Barry’s decision to bring in Belton. It was certainly a surprise to those of us who knew him as a print journalist New York Times and Vanity gallery – Not the guy you’d think runs a major television operation.
Abdul Alou: I think Barry wants to shake up the show, and sees being an outsider as an advantage. Especially if it wants to expand its digital presence. I get it in that sense. However, the choice was confusing, if only because of that 60 minutes It is the most watched news program on television and does not need an overhaul, at least on the television front. This is a huge swing.
sz: It is worth noting that the program has four million subscribers on YouTube; It’s not like 60 minutes Invisible on the Internet. But digital transformation is generous reading. A less generous reading is that she wanted to shift the series away from the liberal-minded press, and perhaps away from the Trump impeachment press, and saw Simon’s regime as making the administration very uncomfortable. Where do you fall?
Abdul Alou: You’re right, the result may be what the Trump administration wants, which is to weaken CBS News, given that morale is so low. But I also think Barry is being honest when she says she wants to take the show into the future and turn it into 21st century television. So, even though it’s not clear to me that it’s about politics, you can’t ignore the elephant in the room.
sz: And of course both things can be true – the goal is numerical, and the side benefit is less resistance from Trump. But I’m not sure it has anything to do with Trump’s reaction. It could just be a matter of Barry herself wanting more centrism, which is her entire motto at The Free Press.
Abdul Alou: Certainly possible too.
sz: Let’s talk about Belton. How did his first week go (why does it seem longer) in your opinion?
Abdul Alou: Anytime you come in after high-profile people like Tanya Simon have been let go, you have to work on winning over employees. For example, you have to be tactful when you let go of veterans like Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, as Barry did. I’m not sure Nick and Barry would have done that or succeeded in convincing the staff that everything was fine.
sz: We’ve both worked in enough media outlets to know how impossible the role of a new president is. So I have some sympathy for Pelton. On the other hand, you would think he would know what works and what doesn’t in this role given his decades under exactly those bosses.
Abdul Alou: I think he probably does, but he’s never been on the management side before, at least not on this scale. And don’t forget the structure 60 minutes It’s very different from the structure of a newspaper or magazine — just how they structure their stories or how each reporter has a team of producers. You have to realize what’s different and how willing people are to play ball and adapt, and I’m not sure Nick has done that yet. But like I said, it’s only been a week. Or a year, I can’t be sure.
sz: Let’s also not forget who else he works with. 60 minutes Reporters are very good, but they also know they are very good.
Abdul Alou: There is no shortage of people working in television news who are extremely confident. Sure, but it’s not unique 60 minutes. Many people in the industry believe that they are untouchable. He said that, 60 minutes It’s always worked a little differently even for a TV news show. They are viewed differently within CBS because they are so successful; They were not in the same offices as the rest of the news department for most of their history.
sz: On the island, you could say.
Abdul Alou: definitely.
sz: You know there’s a cynical view that Barry and Pelton have required To provoke a reaction – they want to blow up the show and so they set out some dynamite for the staff to trip over.
Abdul Alou: If you really wanted to blow it up, you could fire everyone right away. But by bringing in Belton – I think it’s a sincere effort to redefine it. I think she wants to do it and he wants to do it. They certainly come with authority and say that anyone who doesn’t like what we’re doing is free to leave. But while some millionaire reporters can afford to do it, the employees — the producers and the people who make the show — need jobs. And Barry and Belton need them. So, if that’s the approach, I think it’s the wrong approach.
sz: You have a lot of resources in this building. How alienated are production staff at the moment – what are you hearing?
Abdul Alou: I think morale is beautiful. This is something they have believed in for a long time and it seems to be slowly being phased out. But then again, many of them can’t walk out the door in protest, at least not until they have something else.
sz: It’s not like CNN is hiring.
Abdul Alou: Journalism jobs are hard to come by these days.
sz: What about Billy himself? What’s his endgame with this wild encounter in the meeting. As if he knew it was going to end badly and wanted to go down in a blaze of glory, JetBlue flight attendant style, or at least get down to get his message across? Or is it just anger that got away from him?
Abdul Alou: Without knowing what was going on in his head or heart, I think he was really angry. You can hear it in his voice. But he clearly planned to do it – I don’t think it was spur of the moment, but I also don’t think it was as performative as Belton said it was. It’s another one of those “many things could be true” situations – I think he knew exactly what he was doing and was planning to say some version of what he did, like a suicide mission where he was willing to accept the cost versus the benefit. I don’t know if he thought about what would happen next.
sz: And on the subject of expediency, he made some pointed comments about asking recent stories to change details in a story to favor Trump, and he also criticized Weiss for allowing topics to shop among reporters, shall we say, a reference to an incident several weeks ago in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly helped choose an interviewer, who is not-60 minutes Reporter Major Garrett, although we should note that there is no hard evidence of this. What were the charges made? Did they land?
Abdul Alou: It was a bit mysterious. The second thing appears to be Netanyahu, but it is not clear what the first is. I would like to know the circumstances, and I think details can illuminate things here, it really depends on the specific questions.
sz: There is a sense that Billy’s reaction at Monday’s meeting was the culmination of a very long line of frustrations, which is why Belton may have been a little surprised. Something of “marked rudeness and disdain” on Billy’s part, as he put it. Belton bore the brunt of Bailey’s list of grievances that long preceded his appointment.
Abdul Alou: completely. This was construction and layoffs [of Simon and others] It’s just what sparked it.
sz: So what now? Barry and Pelton are broken up 60 minutes But do they have a plan to build it back up? It remains a widely successful show. Pelton speaks fondly of the three “mini-documentaries” each week.
Abdul Alou: I think they found a way to not only get the show on more digital platforms but also produce clips that have a look and feel to them 60 minutesalthough I think the early reveal will be how powerful they are. John Wertheim, the sports specialist, is there and can provide more pieces. Norah O’Donnell I think she would do more. They will use other CBS News talent like Matt Gutman and Tony Dokoupil if they need to. They will make appointments.
sz: But not traditional broadcast journalists.
Abdul Alou: I think they’ll have some traditional radio journalists, but I have a hunch there might be some from creatives and the podcast space as well.
sz: alex cooper, 60 minutes Reporter.
Abdul Alou: This is not crazy.
sz: She’s very good at what she does, but is it for an investigative news magazine?
Abdul Alou: I can see it showing more on digital platforms but also sometimes on the net.
sz: Wouldn’t that be annoying for the old audience listening?
Abdul Alou: Well, there’s a theory from other TV network executives — maybe a little jealousy — that the introduction of NFL games helps a lot on CBS, since you can put almost anything there and guarantee a big audience. So it may not be such a risk. But you can also see that it’s more mixed. They’ve done this digital experiment before, as you and I talked about, with their partners 60 by 6 The show was on Quibi which then moved to Paramount+ when Quibi folded. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t really work because they had a completely separate set of reporters, much like magazines in the early days of the Internet had a print book and a web book and they never intersected. You can’t really manage things that way.
sz: Now it’s like every magazine, people are creating for both.
Abdul Alou: exactly.
sz: When you frame it that way, it doesn’t seem like as big a shift as Billy made it out to be. I mean, even the most popular print product has to play the digital game now; He couldn’t stay above that battle. This does not mean that the asset is “killed”.
Abdul Alou: I think it’s a matter of how you do it. If the show still has some of these deeper investigations, it might be a good idea to bring in creatives to do it — and hopefully it’ll be well done and polished. If it’s just an acquisition without any of the strong stuff, I think it’s a different story. But I don’t think it’s a crazy idea to take digital talent and put it out there 60 minutes Harmonizing and trying to merge these two worlds.
sz: I’m just trying to imagine what that would look like.
Abdul Alou: 60 minutes Does the rigorous press and top producers have this experience, and align it with the sensibilities of the digital creative audience in ways that make sense? It’s a bit of a strange marriage but I see it working.
Sz: Give me your predictions for how things will go – if you were to put money on Calci now. What will 60 minutes Look like it’s fall? What about fall 2027?
Abdul Wahid faction: If they can get the show back in the fall, and I’m concerned that staff departures might hinder that – they’ll still be doing a lot of the same stories with perhaps some flashier hires. In the fall of 2027, I think you’ll see more of other unconventional genres, doing things that play well online — which are still good, but softer. But I also think that next year we’ll see at least a few very strong pieces.
sz: Focus on Trump or?
Abdul Alou: I think the Trump administration. Barry and Pelton have something to prove.
sz: That should lead to some interesting phone calls with Ellison. What about the viewers – will there be more or fewer? 60 minutes By fall or 2027?
Abdul Alou: Maybe about himself. This is a symptom that is difficult to remove. Although perhaps there will be a crowd revolt. It will be very interesting to see.
