The three remaining reporters at CBS News 60 minutes He will remain with the show for next season.
In a memo to the show’s staff, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and John Wertheim said that while they had difficulty deciding whether to remain on the show or not, 60 minutes After senior producers and reporters like Tanya Simone, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega, and Sharyn Alfonsi were fired, they chose to remain on the show.
“We feared that our return would be interpreted as an endorsement of the current power structure,” they wrote. “This is simply categorically not the case.” “This is why we stay: we don’t want to see 60 minutes He dies.”
The memo comes after CBS News editor-in-chief Barry Weiss shook up the series, ousting executive producer Tanya Simone and two of her top deputies, and naming technology journalist Nick Pelton to succeed her. She has also broken up with Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. In a heated staff meeting earlier this week, reporter Scott Billy Weiss accused of trying to kill the program and said Pelton had “slim qualifications” for the most prestigious job in television news.
Billy was fired from the show the next day.
Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim had sharp criticism of how Weiss and Pelton handled the situation.
“We are still very upset by the dismissal of Tanja and Dragan, two strong leaders who were respected by everyone. As far as we can tell – because no explanation was given at all, they were fired because they fought for us.” 60 minutes “Values and we stand to protect our independence and integrity,” they wrote. “Newsrooms are not meant to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and controversy are the way we have always worked at 60. In fact, Don Hewitt encouraged passionate, vocal advocacy for our business.”
They added: “We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so poorly and with such rudeness.” “Tanya deserves to be celebrated, not cruelly disposed of. Dragan too. It was heartbreaking.”
Pelton sent a note after the incident expressing her regret over how the situation was handled, promised independence from the company owners, and announced the promotion of Maria Gavrilovich to senior producer.
“We will always make story our North Star, not relationships, politics, or anything else,” he wrote. “We will only and always be guided by what makes the best piece for our viewers. And it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: We will never be guided by company ownership on those stories.”
Pelton said THR Last week he said he wanted to add a bit of “gonzo” journalism to the show, adding subject matter experts to the ranks of his correspondents, while expanding the show to other platforms.
Read their full note below:
To all our sixty-year-old colleagues
From Leslie, Bill and John
We had a hard time deciding whether to stay on 60 Minutes or not. We are still deeply disturbed by the dismissal of Tania and Dragan, two strong leaders whom everyone respected. As far as we can tell – because no explanation was ever given, they were fired because they fought for the values of 60 Minutes and stood up to protect our independence and integrity.
Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and debate are the way we’ve always worked at 60. In fact, Don Hewitt encouraged passionate, vocal advocacy for our actions.
This also applies to Sharyn, Cecilia and Scott, all of them at the top of the world of television journalism who embody the spirit of tough questions and honest storytelling on 60 Minutes.
And Guy Campanile, the distinguished 60 Minutes producer whose advice on our stories was invaluable.
Matt Polevoy, who ran our online operations, moved us to YouTube, and was developing 60 Minutes Podcasts and many other projects to expand our web presence: vital and essential to our future.
We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so poorly and with such rudeness. Tanya deserves to be celebrated, not cruelly disposed of. Dragan too. It was heartbreaking.
But we decided to stay.
We feared that our return would be interpreted as support for the existing power structure. This is simply not categorically the case.
This is why we stay: We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die.
We were saddened that this whole mess had hurt and damaged the broadcast. We want to stay and fight, trying to repair and maintain our reputation by continuing Mike Wallace’s tradition of holding their feet to the fire, as well as Morley’s weird and bizarre reports like his on why people in Finland love tango!
It’s early days, but we’re working on building trust with Nick, and we’re excited about Maria’s promotion. We heard all the right things in yesterday’s “independence” memorandum. We have come a long way, and now we need to see these commitments to our processes and procedures put into practice. If we can continue to do the work that made this stand out for what it is — committing bold, independent journalism and storytelling — then we’re here for it.
If not, we leave.
For now, we’re staying put – for the sake of our audience, the millions who watch us with a loyal but critical eye. We stay for our teams, and all teams. We work for you guys. The thought of being abandoned has become unbearable. And of course we will stay because this is home.
Here’s to Season 59!
