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‘Big changes are coming’: CBS News' Bari Weiss planning major shakeup at 60 Minutes, and her targets are…
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss might shake up the popular TV news magazine, and top talent at ‘60 Minutes’ could be impacted.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss might shake up the popular TV news magazine, the New York Post reported. Those impacted by the shakeup could include any number of the show’s well-known anchors.
David Ellison, CEO of CBS owner Paramount Skydance, said that this month, Weiss was tapped to restore “balance” to the Tiffany Network’s news unit. Weiss believes that ‘60 Minutes’ has drifted too far to the left, insiders said, according to the outlet.
Sources claimed that Scott Pelley is one of Weiss’ rumored targets. This summer, the anchor criticized CBS’ then owner Paramount in an on-air tirade for inking a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over allegations that ‘60 Minutes’ “deceptively edited a Kamala Harris interview.”
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Bill Whitaker, the correspondent who conducted the Harris interview in question, could also be targeted, insiders revealed. He came under fire for throwing softball questions at her and not vetting what was aired.
“Bari isn’t wrong to try to bring in new people,” said a CBS insider, noting that Pelley and Whitaker are 68 and 74 years old, respectively. “Most of the show’s correspondents and its viewers are geriatric.”
According to insiders, Weiss believes that Lesley Stahl, 83, is a “treasure.” She might remain in her role for now, despite retirement rumors.
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The fate of Tanya Simon – who succeeded Bill Owens as “60 Minutes” executive producer in a reshuffle this summer – remains unclear. Simon is the daughter of late correspondent Bob Simon, and seems to agree with Weiss that the show has “gone soft,” a source said, adding that Simon had been planning to shuffle personnel to make the show “more hard hitting” and cut back on “soft entertainment pieces” even before Weiss arrived.
“’60 Minutes’ has become the headquarters of book and movie launches,” an insider told the New York Post. “It is not the home of the investigative journalism of Mike Wallace anymore.”
‘Big changes are coming’
This report comes at a time when Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski are deciding whether to purge big names like ‘CBS Morning’” co-host Gayle King. The network could announce major headcount reductions Wednesday, October 29.
“Big changes are coming,” said a source, adding that Weiss is planning to bring back hard-hitting investigations. She is believed to have reached out to former CBS News investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, whose clashes with the network's bosses after breaking stories on Hunter Biden’s laptop are widely known about.
“There’s not much of an investigative reporting unit anymore,” said a CBS News exec. “The reality is ‘60 Minutes’ is the investigative arm of CBS News.”
The network recently announced that ‘CBS Evening News’ co-anchor John Dickerson is set to retire at the end of the year. Maurice DuBois, his co-host, is expected to follow suit as Weiss and Cibrowski decide who would be the best fit to anchor the show.
