Bari Weiss booked Benjamin Netanyahu’s CBS interview for “60 Minutes,” but gave it to Major Garrett, sparking staff backlash.
A high-profile “60 Minutes” interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not only drawn attention for its news impact, but also for the backstage decisions that shaped it.
Major Garrett, CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent, earned praise for his Sunday appearance with Netanyahu on “60 Minutes,” marking the leader’s first U.S. broadcast interview since the war in Iran reignited again.
Yet the reporting surrounding the booking suggests Garrett’s involvement was not initially a foregone conclusion.. According to the report. the interview was arranged by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. who booked the CBS News conversation and then assigned it to Garrett for broadcast on the newsmagazine.
That choice reportedly created friction inside “60 Minutes.” The report stated that staff members were unhappy with the arrangement. pointing out that Garrett is not a regular correspondent for the program. while longtime “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl and her team had reportedly been pursuing the opportunity to book Netanyahu themselves.
A CBS News spokesperson pushed back on the criticism, saying Weiss’ role includes making booking and interview decisions and describing Garrett’s performance as tough, fair, and newsmaking. In the spokesperson’s account, the interview stood on its own merits as a major journalistic event.
This Netanyahu episode fits into a wider pattern of reported interventions by Weiss since she took the helm of CBS News about seven months ago. The newsmagazine, according to the reporting, has been navigating internal shake-ups over how stories are selected, timed, and placed within “60 Minutes.”
Among the specific examples cited was Weiss’ handling of a segment led by Alfonsi that was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration efforts.. The report said Weiss temporarily held that segment.. A separate dispute involved another story—this one led by Anderson Cooper—focused on the administration’s decision to accept white refugees from South Africa. and the report said Weiss delayed that segment as well.
The reporting also indicated the strain was not limited to segment scheduling. Cooper was said to have indicated he would leave the program after the current season, underscoring how deeply these editorial disagreements may have reverberated across the “60 Minutes” roster.
The Netanyahu interview, however, is described as the moment the tension escalated most clearly. According to the report, Stahl had spent months attempting to secure Netanyahu for her own “60 Minutes” interview, and the decision ultimately put the prime minister in Garrett’s hands.
The network reportedly also considered whether another CBS News program might carry the interview.. But timing became a deciding factor: Netanyahu was reportedly only available to tape on Saturday. and Weiss ultimately determined that fitting the conversation into “60 Minutes” was the only workable path.
Looking ahead, the reported dispute also sits alongside expectations that Weiss may overhaul the show once the current season ends.. The report said a shake-up could include changes to the correspondent lineup. naming Sharyn Alfonsi as a possible departure. following a period already marked by high-profile editorial friction.
In a newsroom where interviews and assignments are often treated as both editorial priorities and personal professional milestones. the Netanyahu episode appears to have combined two pressures at once: the urgency of securing a major global figure on a tight schedule. and the internal push and pull over who ultimately gets to make that journalistic moment happen on the program’s terms.
For viewers, Garrett’s Netanyahu interview may read as a straightforward “60 Minutes” event.. Behind the scenes. though. the reporting suggests it was also the latest chapter in a much larger story about leadership style. editorial control. and how far a news team’s internal ambitions can collide with the authority of an editor-in-chief.
Bari Weiss 60 Minutes Major Garrett Benjamin Netanyahu Lesley Stahl CBS News interview newsroom shake-up