June 2, 2026 / 11:42 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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CBS News has fired longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent and former "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley one day after he had a tense and confrontational exchange with new "60 Minutes" executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting. Bilton informed Pelley of the termination in a letter Tuesday evening."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, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress," Bilton wrote.Bilton wrote to Pelley that he "hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt."In the letter, Bilton also indicated that the two men had met again privately Tuesday, but Bilton wrote that Pelley had "made clear" in that second meeting he was "not interested" in "finding a path forward together."In a separate memo sent to "60 Minutes" staff informing them that CBS News had "parted ways" with Pelley, Bilton wrote, "I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don't say this lightly. I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose."CBS News has not commented on the firing.
