CBS Editor Requested Changes to February Protest Segment, Scott Pelley Says

Scott Pelley, a CBS News correspondent, said in a New York Times interview that Bari Weiss, the network's editor-in-chief, sent notes requesting changes to a February broadcast about protests in Minneapolis. Pelley stated that the notes asked producers to describe a protester as driving "towards" the officer who shot her and to portray demonstrators as more violent.

He said the notes arrived hours after the program's deadline.

Pelley said the requested wording would have reflected footage of aggressive protester behavior. He declined to make the changes. "You don't break a deadline. That episode came within 19 minutes of not making it to air," Pelley said.

Pelley said he had concerns about Weiss's lack of broadcast experience when she was appointed after David Ellison acquired Paramount last summer. He said he initially planned to give the new leadership the benefit of the doubt. He reported no immediate retaliation after declining the changes and said he was later fired after an outburst during a meeting.

A CBS spokesperson told the Times there is "no credible argument to suggest Ms. Weiss was involved in the decision to end Pelley's contract." Pelley said Weiss is a "lovely person" but added that "television's not her thing." He said he believed the Paramount sale was necessary and praised Ellison's early vision for the network.