Ellison reassures – Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison reassured CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl that “60 Minutes” would keep editorial independence in a call on Sunday, June 7, after multiple firings in recent weeks, including Scott Pelley. The reassurance comes as CBS News chi
When “60 Minutes” staff were being cut down in recent weeks, CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl was left with one lingering question: would the program’s independence survive the overhaul?
On Sunday, June 7, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison reportedly called Stahl and told her that “60 Minutes” would have editorial independence, Stahl said in a report published Tuesday, June 9.
Ellison’s outreach comes during a period of intense turmoil for the 57-year-old newsmagazine, where longtime correspondent Scott Pelley was fired after more than two decades and other changes were rolled out under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The stakes are personal for the people at the center of the dispute. Stahl. along with Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim. confirmed in a memo shared with staff and obtained on Friday. June 5 that they would remain on the CBS program—after saying they were unsure whether returning might be seen as support for the “existing power structure.”.
“We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay,” the trio wrote. “We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure.”
They said they are still choosing to stay because “we don’t want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die,” and they rejected the idea that their presence would validate how the program is being run.
Their memo also captured the anger sweeping through the newsroom. They said they were disappointed with the recent mass firings at CBS that the industry has dubbed “Black Thursday.”
Along with Pelley and Tanya Simon—described as the first woman to hold the top job—CBS News terminated other “60 Minutes” staffers. Those included executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. In addition, CBS moved to bring Nick Bilton in as executive producer.
The chain of events has unfolded quickly, and each step has intensified the conflict inside the newsroom.
On May 28, Bari Weiss announced that journalist and filmmaker Nick Bilton would executive produce the program after Tanya Simon was among the staffers let go from the show. Within days, CBS News terminated Pelley after more than two decades.
Pelley’s departure followed a heated staff meeting in which he accused Weiss of “murdering” the news institution, according to a recording obtained by a major newspaper.
In that termination note obtained earlier. Bilton told Pelley that he had “hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me. my qualifications. and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.” Bilton continued. saying: “Yesterday’s performative display of hostility — enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil. private conversation — demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.”.
Tensions didn’t stop at leadership and personnel. Pelley reportedly criticized Bilton as having “slender qualifications” to lead the show.
For Stahl. Whitaker. and Wertheim. the discontent was tied directly to how they believe the show’s values have been treated. In their memo. they said they were “deeply upset by the firings of Tanya and Draggan. strong leaders who everyone respected.” They added that. because “no explanation has ever been offered. ” they believed those leaders were expelled because they “fought for our ‘60 Minutes’ values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity.”.
They also drew a line from the past to the present, writing that “newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships,” and saying that “collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at ‘60.’ [Show creator] Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud passionate advocacy for our pieces.”
The newsroom situation has now reached a moment where Ellison’s message to Stahl stands against the anger and uncertainty the memo describes. The call—reported as a reassurance delivered on June 7—underscores the contradiction staff have been weighing: independence. promised in private. versus the upheaval and lack of explanations they say they have experienced in public.
At the same time, CBS representatives had not publicly responded to requests for comment at the time of publication, leaving staff to interpret what Ellison’s promise will mean in practice as “60 Minutes” moves into its next phase under Bilton’s executive production and Weiss’s direction.
60 Minutes CBS News Lesley Stahl David Ellison Bari Weiss Scott Pelley Nick Bilton Tanya Simon Draggan Mihailovich Sharyn Alfonsi Cecilia Vega
Independence… sure. CBS says that every time something gets cut.
So David Ellison calls Lesley Stahl and says it’ll stay independent like that fixes everything? Lol. These firings were already done, you can’t just talk your way out of it.
Wait I thought 60 Minutes was literally owned by CBS. If Ellison is involved now doesn’t that mean it’s NOT independent? Unless independence just means they still get to pick the questions, which… I doubt.
“Black Thursday” sounds dramatic but honestly it’s just corporate messing around. Stahl asking the question in June makes it sound like she was worried about the whole thing collapsing, like news shows can die from one call. Also Bari Weiss being mentioned—people act like that automatically equals censorship but I feel like they’re all just doing politics. If they’re cutting staff that’s usually the opposite of independence, no matter what Ellison says.