Scott Pelley Fired by CBS After Publicly Attacking New '60 Minutes' Leadership in Staff Meeting

Scott Pelley was fired after a Monday staff meeting in which he accused CBS News management of “murdering” the program “60 Minutes” and questioned the credentials of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and new executive producer Nick Bilton. The confrontation occurred with Bilton, who had been brought aboard by Weiss after she became CBS News’ editor-in-chief in October.

Pelley also referenced the firings last week of Bilton’s predecessor Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.

Pelley, anchor of “CBS Evening News” and a “60 Minutes” correspondent, had appeared at the CBS Upfront in New York on May 15, 2013, in a photo taken by Charles Sykes for Invision/AP. The program has been a mainstay of Sunday nights for nearly six decades.

Zach Tyra, a 40-year-old data analyst from Jones, Oklahoma, said the episode resonated because many workers lack the resources to confront management.

“I couldn’t do what Scott Pelley did because I didn’t have the safety net or the resources or the network that he has,” Tyra said. Parry Headrick, 57, who runs a public relations firm in Boston, recalled quitting a newspaper job after editors altered a story he had reported on toxic-waste exposure. “I lost my goddamn mind when they did that,” Headrick said.

Clare Haynes, 55, from Royal Leamington Spa, England, described confronting a nonprofit supervisor two decades ago after her suggestions were rejected. “I didn’t lose my job, but I paid the price, being seen as maverick,” she said. Johan Konst, 34, of Amsterdam, said he was fired seven years ago after delivering a blunt message to his boss at a Swedish media company.