NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� In a remarkable sign of the turmoil at CBS鈥檚 top-rated 鈥�60 Minutes,鈥� correspondent Scott Pelley said CBS 太子探花 head Bari Weiss was 鈥渕urdering the show鈥� and accused its new producer of having 鈥渟lender qualifications鈥� for the job, according to reports.
Pelley made his accusations in an introductory meeting Monday between the newsmagazine鈥檚 staff and Nick Bilton, the new executive producer named by Weiss last week, according to a detailed report on the , which said it had heard a recording of the meeting. Weiss herself was not present, according to the report. Status specializes in media news and analysis.
Status reported that Pelley, the longtime 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� correspondent, began grilling Bilton at the 10 a.m. meeting about Status also reported that Pelley told Bilton, a former technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, that his qualifications for the position were 鈥渟lender.”
Pelley also charged, according to Status, that Weiss herself had 鈥渘o qualifications for her job,鈥� and said the changes she had made to 鈥淐BS Evening 太子探花,鈥� which Pelley once anchored, 鈥渉ave been catastrophic.鈥�
It added that Bilton insisted that 鈥淏ari loves this institution鈥� and 鈥渟he loves 鈥�60 Minutes'” 鈥� to which Pelley countered, 鈥淪he鈥檚 murdering 鈥�60 minutes.鈥� She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and she鈥檚 doing exactly that.鈥�
CBS says leaders tried to reach out to Pelley
Two spokespeople for CBS 太子探花 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But a person close to CBS 太子探花 leadership, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that both Weiss and Bilton had tried to reach out to Pelley late last week when the changes rocked the 57-year-old show to tell him that he was an integral part of 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� and wanted him to remain so.
The person said Weiss and Bilton felt it was disappointing that Pelley’s accusations were being aired publicly despite efforts to engage with him privately.
The New York Times, which also reported that it had listened to a recording of Monday’s meeting, noted that Pelley’s 鈥渘ewscaster’s baritone鈥� was shaking during the exchange. The newspaper also quoted an unnamed executive at the meeting as saying Weiss had been prepared to come, but 鈥渨e asked her not to.鈥�
Argument comes after memo touting 鈥榥ew approach鈥�
Reports about the contentious meeting came four days after Weiss, who has become a polarizing figure in the media world since taking the reins at CBS last October, told staff in a memo that it was time for a 鈥渘ew approach鈥� at the top-rated newsmagazine.
In the memo, Weiss and CBS 太子探花 president Tom Cibrowski said their goal was 鈥渂uilding a show that thrives in the 21st century.鈥�
鈥淭hat requires a new approach,鈥� they wrote, defining that approach as 鈥渆xpanding 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� beyond a one-hour television broadcast, deepening its role across CBS 太子探花, and holding everything we produce to the ambition, fairness, and fearlessness that have defined 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� at its best.鈥�
Bilton, they said, 鈥渆mbodies the energy and ambition that animated the founders of the show. We cannot imagine a better fit.鈥�
The Status report noted that Pelley was applauded multiple times by other staffers during the meeting. It said Pelley focused on the firings last week, calling them cruel.
Bilton reportedly replied that he was not intimidated. 鈥淚 have been a journalist for 25 years, Scott,” Status quoted him as saying. “I have sat and talked with incredibly powerful people like you have. None of it intimidates me, OK? So you are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people.鈥�
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