CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss unleashed a bloodbath at “60 Minutes” on Thursday, ousting executive producer Tanya Simon along with other top producers and correspondents including Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
In the surprise reshuffle, Weiss replaced Simon at the helm of the iconic TV news magazine with Nick Bilton, a former New York Times columnist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience. He will become only the fifth executive producer in the nearly 60-year history of “60 Minutes.”
In an interview with The Post, Bilton said it was Weiss who approached him about the job. The two had known each other since her time at the New York Times, though the two never worked together there, he said.
“I never had any desire to come back to journalism,” Bilton said in a phone interview, adding that he nevertheless “couldn’t get this job out of my mind.”
Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Tanya Simon (left to right) have all been ousted from “60 Minutes.” Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images
