CBS Fires Scott Pelley for Insubordination After He Attacked New 60 Minutes Leadership at Staff Meeting

CBS fired Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes on Tuesday night. New executive producer Nick Bilton told Pelley the dismissal was for insubordination at a staff meeting the day before. Pelley said he was defending the DNA of 60 Minutes and the integrity of its journalism.

Pelley had called Bilton unwelcome and unqualified at the Monday meeting and said that network editor in chief Bari Weiss was attempting to "murder" the program. CBS fired correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi last week. A producer and two show executives were also dismissed last week, including Tanya Simon, who had stepped up as executive producer when her predecessor resigned in protest before the Ellisons' takeover.

Anderson Cooper left 60 Minutes last month, concerned over the direction of the network's coverage. Only correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim remain. Two associates with knowledge said the three are considering whether to resign.

She added, "Let's call this what it is: censorship, both censorship and self-driven. " Bilton was previously a tech reporter for The New York Times and an investigative reporter for Vanity Fair. He executive-produced a documentary for Netflix about a couple accused of laundering Bitcoin and has no experience in television news.

Weiss was installed as the network's editor in chief last October. Larry Ellison and David Ellison bought CBS' parent company, Paramount, last summer.

U.S. Operations. They are seeking approval from Trump's regulators to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. 60 Minutes rose in the ratings 9% over the past season under Simon. Bilton and Weiss said the program needs to be overhauled before it becomes increasingly irrelevant in the era of streamers and other sources of news, information and entertainment in the digital age.

Weiss said that Pelley chose his own path — that is, to be fired rather than to find a way to work through his concerns, according to attendees at a meeting Wednesday morning.