Following a reported heated behind-the-scenes exchange, 60 Minutes has fired veteran correspondent Scott Pelley. Pelley went scorched earth on CBS news boss Bari Weiss and newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton.
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Bilton reportedly fired Pelley "for cause effective immediately."
"[Y]ou hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt," Bilton wrote. Bilton accused Pelley of creating a hostile work environment. He claimed Pelley had "no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress."
"I am here to deliver first-in-class news programming, not to make headlines about newsroom drama," Bilton wrote. "Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you."
Scott Pelley Fired
This comes after Pelley was angry at a series of firings from 60 Minutes. He reportedly argued with Bilton, promising that he would never be welcomed at the programming. The argument ended with Belton walking out.
"What did he accomplish?" one CBS source told The New York Post. "He embarrassed the company and the leadership. This was a setup. This was Scott going off for show - this was just a show. He wants to stand up for journalism and maybe get fired, but what does it change?"
Another source also believed Pelley went too far in his tactics.
"That grandstanding thing is insane. It's third-grade, playground bullying stuff," the source said. "This is not the way you conduct yourself."
"You're not taking down a dictator or someone who has committed war crimes," the source added. "You're not interviewing Saddam Hussein. It was a little bit overkill."
It's another blow for 60 Minutes after a string of firings recently. Pelley had worked at CBS News for four decades and became one of the faces for the programming.
CBS is pushing forward with changes to the programming. But we will see how audiences respond given all of the behind the scenes shakeups.
