Bari Weiss hopes that ’60 Minutes’ changes bring in a younger audience
Paramount reports an average viewership of 9 million for the latest season of the award-winning newsmagazine ’60 Minutes.’
After Scott Pelley and more staffers were let go from “60 Minutes,” CBS is now in the process of hiring its next batch of on-air talent for the news program.
Conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat will be a correspondent for the newsmagazine broadcast, according to an email obtained by USA TODAY.
The email, which executive producer Nick Bilton sent to “60 Minutes” staff on Tuesday, July 28, also revealed Douthat will be joined by former “60 Minutes” contributor Norah O’Donnell. Other new contributors include “The Perfect Storm” author Sebastian Junger, Vice News alum Gianna Toboni and prominent British broadcaster Trevor Phillips.
“Today, I am pleased to share some great news, and the first of many exciting announcements to come,” Bilton’s email reads. “Ross, Sebastian, Gianna and Trevor are entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences. Between them they have written books and magazine articles, produced documentaries, TV shows and podcasts, hosted live events and built brands on independent platforms.”
Bilton asked staff to welcome the new hires and said he looks forward to seeing everyone in person on Aug 2.
The new wave of hires comes after former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss became the program’s new editor-in-chief.
Scott Pelley’s firing followed tense exchange with Nick Bilton
The shakeup at “60 Minutes” has included the firings of Scott Pelley, executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
In a termination note obtained by USA TODAY on June 2, Bilton told Pelley that he was hoping they could pave a “path forward together” following the “misconduct” but said, “You made it clear that you are not interested in such a path.”
“It is a profound disappointment that you rejected that overture and chose ambush instead,” Bilton told Pelley in a note. “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.”
In a June 7 interview on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast, Pelley opened up about his exit, saying he doesn’t feel “sorry” for himself but cares about the “people that I left behind” at “60 Minutes” and about “this institution that I love so much.”
“The best thing that I can imagine in terms of describing it is that it’s like your spouse was murdered,” he said. “There’s some moments of the day I feel fine. There’s some moments of the day that I just, frankly, fall apart, when I least expect it.”
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY