60 Minutes shakeup: Bari Weiss hires Nick Bilton as new executive producer - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 07-24-2025, 09:28 PM

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/tan...ws-1236468769/

Simon, the daughter of late 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, has been serving as interim 60 Minutes executive producer since Bill Owens resigned as the CBS newsmagazine's boss in April. Simon becomes the fourth executive producer since 60 Minutes launched in 1968. She'll also be the first woman to lead 60 Minutes. “Tanya Simon understands what makes 60 Minutes tick. She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer and someone who knows how to inspire people,” said Tom Cibrowski, recently named president and executive editor of CBS News, in a statement. “Tanya knows that the success of today’s 60 Minutes depends on delivering a weekly mix of the most informative, impactful and entertaining stories and investigative journalism from around the world. This is the true essence and foundation of 60 Minutes." According to Status' Oliver Darcy, "this news will come as a relief to the 60 Minutes team. There has been significant worry that when David Ellison’s Skydance took over they’d attempt to install their own pick into the role."

TMC · 04-02-2026, 09:01 PM

60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon could be ousted after one year

Simon became the first woman and only the fourth executive producer of 60 Minutes when she succeeded Bill Owens a year ago. But her contract is only for one year, reports Variety’s Brian Steinberg. Simon, reports Steinberg, “could be removed from the role later this year if CBS News executives decline to renew a one-year deal that put her in the job, according to three people familiar with the matter. The revelation is likely to exacerbate concerns about how Bari Weiss, editor in chief of the Paramount Skydance news operation, may recalibrate the revered program, and raises the prospect that CBS News managers could place an outsider — a person with no ties to the show — in charge of 60 Minutes for the first time in its history. Simon, who has been a producer and editor on the show for more than a quarter century, and is daughter of a former correspondent, Bob Simon, has a multi-year contract in place with CBS News, these people said. But Paramount only agreed to give her executive-producer duties for a year, likely because previous managers were in the midst of trying to sell the company to David Ellison’s Skydance Media, these people suggested, and interest was higher in taking care of short-term business issues rather than making longer-term plans.”

TMC · 05-28-2026, 08:24 PM

60 Minutes shakeup: Bari Weiss hires Nick Bilton, a tech journalist and veteran of HBO’s The Idol and Fake Famous, as new executive producer

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is formally putting her stamp on 60 Minutes today by ousting executive producer Tanya Simon, the daughter of legendary 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon who became the storied newsmagazine’s fourth executive producer a year ago after Bill Owens’ resignation. Correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi have also been dropped from 60 Minutes, as well as Draggan Mihailovich, the executive editor who had spent decades on the show. Replacing Simon is Nick Bilton, a longtime tech journalist and documentarian who has never worked in traditional broadcast news. Bilton, 49, is a former New York Times technology columnist, Vanity Fair correspondent and author whose books include the story of Twitter. Bilton was a staff writer on Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Sam Levinson’s short-lived much-criticized 2023 HBO drama series The Idol. He also wrote and directed the 2021 HBO documentary Fake Famous on influencers faking their fame. Last year, Bilton was tapped to write a Martin Scorsese-directed untitled film that would star Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt about organized crime in Hawaii. “The overhaul at 60 Minutes is by far the largest gamble of Ms. Weiss’s tenure,” says The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin. “The program remains appointment viewing for millions every Sunday night, and finished this season as the top rated weekly newsmagazine show on television. Its viewership this season rose 9 percent from the year prior, according to Nielsen.” Bilton told The Times that his experience in documentary film and TV was in keeping with the founding ethos of the program, which he called “the most important news brand in American life.” “Look at Don Hewitt and how he came up with the idea for this,” Bilton said. “He loved documentaries, but he did not have the patience to watch two-hour long versions of them. So he came up with 60 Minutes, which was a series of short documentaries.” Bilton said that the recent furor around 60 Minutes was “just noise,” chalking it up to routine fallout spurred by disruption at a legacy business. He added that the “end result” of the change that the show must undergo would be “quite frankly phenomenal.” In a memo to staff, Weiss said of Bilton: “Nick is one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time.” ALSO: Read Nick Bilton’s memo to the 60 Minutes staff.

TMC · 05-29-2026, 08:29 PM

New 60 Minutes boss Nick Bilton wants to expand the CBS newsmagazine’s digital and mobile footprint — but that has been tried before.

The appointment of media outsider Nick Bilton as the new executive producer of 60 Minutes represents a deliberate attempt by CBS News to disrupt its flagship newsmagazine, though expanding into digital spaces has historically been difficult for the legacy broadcast.

TMC · 06-01-2026, 08:46 PM

Scott Pelley reportedly clashes with new 60 Minutes boss

On June 1, 2026, veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley had a highly publicized, explosive confrontation with the program's newly appointed executive producer, Nick Bilton, openly accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering '60 Minutes.'" The heated clash spilled out during an internal introductory staff meeting following a massive wave of layoffs and leadership overhauls at the network.

TMC · 06-02-2026, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Scott Pelley reportedly clashes with new 60 Minutes boss

On June 1, 2026, veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley had a highly publicized, explosive confrontation with the program's newly appointed executive producer, Nick Bilton, openly accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering '60 Minutes.'" The heated clash spilled out during an internal introductory staff meeting following a massive wave of layoffs and leadership overhauls at the network.

Scott Pelley fired from 60 Minutes and CBS News after heated showdown with his bosses

CBS News fired veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, effective immediately, following an extraordinary on-the-record clash with the show's newly appointed leadership. Pelley’s termination came just a day after he sharply rebuked Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and confronted the program's incoming Executive Producer, Nick Bilton, accusing them of "murdering" the legendary newsmagazine.

TMC · 06-04-2026, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Scott Pelley fired from 60 Minutes and CBS News after heated showdown with his bosses

CBS News fired veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, effective immediately, following an extraordinary on-the-record clash with the show's newly appointed leadership. Pelley’s termination came just a day after he sharply rebuked Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and confronted the program's incoming Executive Producer, Nick Bilton, accusing them of "murdering" the legendary newsmagazine.

Scott Pelley slams CBS News bosses: “Incompetence and unprofessionalism” have “wreaked havoc” — they told me to “inject falsehoods and bias” into story

Leaving 60 Minutes diminished appears to be Bari Weiss’ goal

That exact sentiment has become a prominent talking point in media coverage, with critics and former insiders openly accusing CBS News chief Bari Weiss of trying to deliberately dismantle the venerable newsmagazine program.

TMC · 06-04-2026, 09:37 PM

WGA decries Scott Pelley’s firing from CBS News and 60 Minutes

In a message to members Thursday morning, WGA East president Tom Fontana decried the “assaults on CBS News, an institution of American journalism for nearly a century.” He said the actions taken by CBS News “are more than mere ideological interference with the news. They display a profound contempt for the journalism profession.” WGA East represents unionized employees at CBS News as well as CBS News Digital.

New 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton is making $1 million more than his predecessor Tanya Simon

Page Six Hollywood reports Bilton will make $2.5 million a year, $1 million more than ousted longtime 60 Minutes vet Simon was earning in her one year as the newsmagazine’s boss. Page Six Hollywood also reports that Bilton wasn’t the only candidate for the job. Josh Tyrangiel, the former Bloomberg chief content officer and Vice Media news executive vice president, had exploratory conversations last fall.

stevea · 06-04-2026, 10:43 PM

I'm wondering what would have happened to most people if they called their boss unprofessional and incompetent.

These media people operate in a dream world. Sorry, he deserved to be fired. As anyone else would be.

stevea · 06-05-2026, 09:38 AM

https://babylonbee.com/news/60-minut...mpous-blowhard

Dream Canteen · 06-05-2026, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

I'm wondering what would have happened to most people if they called their boss unprofessional and incompetent.

These media people operate in a dream world. Sorry, he deserved to be fired. As anyone else would be.

In his initial statement after his firing, Scott Pelley wrote, “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

This tracks exactly with what Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi have been saying — both before and after they, too, were pushed out of CBS News and 60 Minutes. And let’s not forget what CBS did to Alfonsi’s “Inside CECOT” story just minutes before it was originally set to air.

Pelley, Vega, and Alfonsi are consummate professionals, and I have no reason to doubt a word of what they’re saying. What they’re alleging is blatant journalistic malpractice — the kind that should send a chill down everyone’s spine, no matter which side of the political fence you’re on.

I, for one, applaud Scott Pelley for fighting the good fight, walking into that meeting Monday morning knowing full well what was coming. He threw himself on a grenade with eyes wide open, and it cost him a 37-year career at CBS. I hope to see him, Alfonsi, and Vega back on the air soon — whether with a reputable news organization or on an independent platform of their own.

stevea · 06-05-2026, 03:52 PM

Having worked in small time media locally here, let alone any other job, I just can't imagine being able to call my program director incompetent and unprofessional.

Now, if this happened after he was fired, that's a different story.

Dream Canteen · 06-05-2026, 04:25 PM

I get where you’re coming from, and I don’t disagree with the merits.

I think Pelley went into that meeting Monday morning fully knowing he’d be fired for what he ended up doing. In his first post-termination statement he called the situation at CBS News “untenable,” so I imagine he’d made up his mind that he was going to do this sometime after the 60 Minutes bloodletting last Thursday.

TMC · 06-05-2026, 08:06 PM

New 60 Minutes boss tries to appease staffers

New 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton faced a tumultuous first week in June 2026, where his efforts to appease and reassure staffers about the show's future were met with open rebellion. His transition into the role has been marked by a high-profile clash and significant internal restructuring.

Report: CBS entertainment president fears 60 Minutes shakeup is tarnishing the network’s brand, especially in Hollywood.

CBS entertainment executives are privately warning that the chaotic management overhaul at 60 Minutes is severely damaging the network’s corporate reputation and relationships across Hollywood. The internal backlash follows a dramatic cascade of high-profile firings and forced resignations ordered by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. Industry insiders report that network executives now fear the public warfare has completely overshadowed the actual journalism, leaving some to even question the long-term viability of TV's most iconic news magazine.

Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim to stay at 60 Minutes: “We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die."

Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim have confirmed in a joint memo to staff on Friday, June 5, 2026, that they will remain at CBS's 60 Minutes following a week of high-profile firings. The three remaining full-time correspondents explicitly stated that they made the collective decision to stay because "we don't want to see '60 Minutes' die". However, they heavily criticized the recent management decisions and issued a clear warning that they will leave if the program's editorial independence is compromised.

Dream Canteen · 06-07-2026, 10:42 AM

The Interview: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ‘60 Minutes’ (Gift Article)

07-24-2025, 09:28 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	60 Minutes shakeup: Bari Weiss hires Nick Bilton as new executive producer https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/tan...ws-1236468769/ Simon, the daughter of late 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, has been serving as interim 60 Minutes executive producer since Bill Owens resigned as the CBS newsmagazine's boss in April. Simon becomes the fourth executive producer since 60 Minutes launched in 1968. She'll also be the first woman to lead 60 Minutes. “Tanya Simon understands what makes 60 Minutes tick. She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer and someone who knows how to inspire people,” said Tom Cibrowski, recently named president and executive editor of CBS News, in a statement. “Tanya knows that the success of today’s 60 Minutes depends on delivering a weekly mix of the most informative, impactful and entertaining stories and investigative journalism from around the world. This is the true essence and foundation of 60 Minutes." According to Status' Oliver Darcy, "this news will come as a relief to the 60 Minutes team. There has been significant worry that when David Ellison’s Skydance took over they’d attempt to install their own pick into the role."

04-02-2026, 09:01 PM	#2
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon could be ousted after one year Simon became the first woman and only the fourth executive producer of 60 Minutes when she succeeded Bill Owens a year ago. But her contract is only for one year, reports Variety’s Brian Steinberg. Simon, reports Steinberg, “could be removed from the role later this year if CBS News executives decline to renew a one-year deal that put her in the job, according to three people familiar with the matter. The revelation is likely to exacerbate concerns about how Bari Weiss, editor in chief of the Paramount Skydance news operation, may recalibrate the revered program, and raises the prospect that CBS News managers could place an outsider — a person with no ties to the show — in charge of 60 Minutes for the first time in its history. Simon, who has been a producer and editor on the show for more than a quarter century, and is daughter of a former correspondent, Bob Simon, has a multi-year contract in place with CBS News, these people said. But Paramount only agreed to give her executive-producer duties for a year, likely because previous managers were in the midst of trying to sell the company to David Ellison’s Skydance Media, these people suggested, and interest was higher in taking care of short-term business issues rather than making longer-term plans.”

05-28-2026, 08:24 PM	#3
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	60 Minutes shakeup: Bari Weiss hires Nick Bilton, a tech journalist and veteran of HBO’s The Idol and Fake Famous, as new executive producer CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is formally putting her stamp on 60 Minutes today by ousting executive producer Tanya Simon, the daughter of legendary 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon who became the storied newsmagazine’s fourth executive producer a year ago after Bill Owens’ resignation. Correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi have also been dropped from 60 Minutes, as well as Draggan Mihailovich, the executive editor who had spent decades on the show. Replacing Simon is Nick Bilton, a longtime tech journalist and documentarian who has never worked in traditional broadcast news. Bilton, 49, is a former New York Times technology columnist, Vanity Fair correspondent and author whose books include the story of Twitter. Bilton was a staff writer on Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Sam Levinson’s short-lived much-criticized 2023 HBO drama series The Idol. He also wrote and directed the 2021 HBO documentary Fake Famous on influencers faking their fame. Last year, Bilton was tapped to write a Martin Scorsese-directed untitled film that would star Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt about organized crime in Hawaii. “The overhaul at 60 Minutes is by far the largest gamble of Ms. Weiss’s tenure,” says The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin. “The program remains appointment viewing for millions every Sunday night, and finished this season as the top rated weekly newsmagazine show on television. Its viewership this season rose 9 percent from the year prior, according to Nielsen.” Bilton told The Times that his experience in documentary film and TV was in keeping with the founding ethos of the program, which he called “the most important news brand in American life.” “Look at Don Hewitt and how he came up with the idea for this,” Bilton said. “He loved documentaries, but he did not have the patience to watch two-hour long versions of them. So he came up with 60 Minutes, which was a series of short documentaries.” Bilton said that the recent furor around 60 Minutes was “just noise,” chalking it up to routine fallout spurred by disruption at a legacy business. He added that the “end result” of the change that the show must undergo would be “quite frankly phenomenal.” In a memo to staff, Weiss said of Bilton: “Nick is one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time.” ALSO: Read Nick Bilton’s memo to the 60 Minutes staff.

05-29-2026, 08:29 PM	#4
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	New 60 Minutes boss Nick Bilton wants to expand the CBS newsmagazine’s digital and mobile footprint — but that has been tried before. The appointment of media outsider Nick Bilton as the new executive producer of 60 Minutes represents a deliberate attempt by CBS News to disrupt its flagship newsmagazine, though expanding into digital spaces has historically been difficult for the legacy broadcast.

06-01-2026, 08:46 PM	#5
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	Scott Pelley reportedly clashes with new 60 Minutes boss On June 1, 2026, veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley had a highly publicized, explosive confrontation with the program's newly appointed executive producer, Nick Bilton, openly accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering '60 Minutes.'" The heated clash spilled out during an internal introductory staff meeting following a massive wave of layoffs and leadership overhauls at the network.

06-04-2026, 09:37 PM	#8
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	WGA decries Scott Pelley’s firing from CBS News and 60 Minutes In a message to members Thursday morning, WGA East president Tom Fontana decried the “assaults on CBS News, an institution of American journalism for nearly a century.” He said the actions taken by CBS News “are more than mere ideological interference with the news. They display a profound contempt for the journalism profession.” WGA East represents unionized employees at CBS News as well as CBS News Digital. New 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton is making $1 million more than his predecessor Tanya Simon Page Six Hollywood reports Bilton will make $2.5 million a year, $1 million more than ousted longtime 60 Minutes vet Simon was earning in her one year as the newsmagazine’s boss. Page Six Hollywood also reports that Bilton wasn’t the only candidate for the job. Josh Tyrangiel, the former Bloomberg chief content officer and Vice Media news executive vice president, had exploratory conversations last fall.

06-04-2026, 10:43 PM	#9
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,371	I'm wondering what would have happened to most people if they called their boss unprofessional and incompetent. These media people operate in a dream world. Sorry, he deserved to be fired. As anyone else would be.

06-05-2026, 09:38 AM	#10
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,371	https://babylonbee.com/news/60-minut...mpous-blowhard

06-05-2026, 03:52 PM	#12
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,371	Having worked in small time media locally here, let alone any other job, I just can't imagine being able to call my program director incompetent and unprofessional. Now, if this happened after he was fired, that's a different story.

06-05-2026, 04:25 PM	#13
Dream Canteen Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 11, 2023 Location: California Posts: 279	I get where you’re coming from, and I don’t disagree with the merits. I think Pelley went into that meeting Monday morning fully knowing he’d be fired for what he ended up doing. In his first post-termination statement he called the situation at CBS News “untenable,” so I imagine he’d made up his mind that he was going to do this sometime after the 60 Minutes bloodletting last Thursday.

06-05-2026, 08:06 PM	#14
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,985	New 60 Minutes boss tries to appease staffers New 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton faced a tumultuous first week in June 2026, where his efforts to appease and reassure staffers about the show's future were met with open rebellion. His transition into the role has been marked by a high-profile clash and significant internal restructuring. Report: CBS entertainment president fears 60 Minutes shakeup is tarnishing the network’s brand, especially in Hollywood. CBS entertainment executives are privately warning that the chaotic management overhaul at 60 Minutes is severely damaging the network’s corporate reputation and relationships across Hollywood. The internal backlash follows a dramatic cascade of high-profile firings and forced resignations ordered by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. Industry insiders report that network executives now fear the public warfare has completely overshadowed the actual journalism, leaving some to even question the long-term viability of TV's most iconic news magazine. Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim to stay at 60 Minutes: “We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die." Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim have confirmed in a joint memo to staff on Friday, June 5, 2026, that they will remain at CBS's 60 Minutes following a week of high-profile firings. The three remaining full-time correspondents explicitly stated that they made the collective decision to stay because "we don't want to see '60 Minutes' die". However, they heavily criticized the recent management decisions and issued a clear warning that they will leave if the program's editorial independence is compromised.

06-07-2026, 10:42 AM	#15
Dream Canteen Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 11, 2023 Location: California Posts: 279	The Interview: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ‘60 Minutes’ (Gift Article)