On Monday morning, the staff of "60 Minutes" convened for an introductory meeting with Bari Weiss' handpicked new executive producer of the program, Nick Bilton. Bilton, the technology journalist who lacks both broadcast news and managerial experience, opened the meeting by reading from some prepared notes. He didn't get far.
Scott Pelley, the iconic "60 Minutes" correspondent and longtime CBS News journalist, interjected and started grilling Bilton about what he dubbed "Black Thursday"—referencing the day last week in which Weiss carried out mass firings, terminating Tanya Simon as executive producer, ousting Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega as correspondents, and showing the door to other senior staffers.
In the extraordinary back and forth, an impassioned Pelley relentlessly pressed Bilton on Weiss' intentions for the storied newsmagazine, pointed out that he has no relevant experience to helm television's most prestigious news program, grilled Bilton on what he knew about the firings, and more.
"Bari loves this institution," Bilton told staffers at one point during the highly contentious meeting. "She loves '60 Minutes.'"
"She's murdering '60 Minutes,'" Pelley countered. "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it—and she's doing exactly that."
This story is based on audio of the meeting obtained by Status. A CBS News spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but Pelley's stunning series of remarks left staffers on the newsmagazine wondering if he will resign.
In the meeting, Pelley…
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