Scott Pelley fired by CBS after ‘60 Minutes’ clash with management

By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — CBS News fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, hours after a contentious meeting with management in response to his criticism of the newsmagazine’s new leadership.

“Despite yesterday’s misconduct, I had hoped that in sitting down with you today we could find a path forward together. You made clear that you are not interested in such a path,” newly appointed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton wrote to Pelley on Tuesday evening.

“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear,” Bilton wrote. “And I have heard you.”

Therefore, he wrote, “your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately.”

On Monday, Pelley pointedly questioned and criticized Bilton in a staff-wide meeting. His scathing remarks immediately leaked to outside news outlets and ignited a crisis inside CBS.

Pelley charged editor in chief Bari Weiss with trying to “kill” the acclaimed newsmagazine and strongly objected to her hiring of Bilton, a former tech reporter with little TV news experience, to run the program.

The longtime correspondent had declined Weiss and Bilton’s previous attempts to meet with him privately to discuss last Thursday’s shake-up at “60 Minutes,” which included the firings of top producers and two correspondents. Bilton was appointed on the same day.

During Monday’s staff meeting, Pelley depicted Weiss and Bilton as unqualified for their jobs and said Bilton would “never be welcome here.”

Some insiders at CBS said afterward that they thought Pelley was daring Weiss to fire him. His detractors at the network said he acted like a bully at the staff meeting. But his supporters — and he has many — said he was just standing up for his colleagues and trying to protect the “60 Minutes” franchise.

Pelley was thought to be starting a summer vacation on Tuesday, but he remained in New York, and told colleagues that he was summoned to an afternoon meeting with management.

Weiss and Bilton were present, along with CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and a human resources representative, according to a source.

The meeting, which was first reported by Puck, ended without any clear resolution about the way forward.

Later Tuesday evening, Bilton wrote to “60 Minutes” staffers about Pelley’s exit, acknowledging the correspondent’s stature inside the newsmagazine while defending the decision to terminate his contract.

“I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don’t say this lightly,” Bilton wrote. “I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose.”

Bilton also sought to turn the staff’s attention back to the future of “60 Minutes,” writing, “I realize this is a great deal of change in a very short time, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise.”

“I won’t relitigate the last week with you here,” Bilton wrote. “What I will commit to is this: My unyielding support for each of you, the journalism that you do and what we will do together going forward.”

Pelley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The-CNN-Wire
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