Scott Pelley said he no longer recognizes “60 Minutes” in the months following the takeover of CBS News by Paramount Skydance, and accused the executive set in charge of the news division of “incompetence and unprofessionalism” that have “wreaked havoc” for months.
Pelley, in his first statement since CBS News announced his termination Tuesday evening, said Paramount Skydance “is casting this legend aside” as it weakens the newsmagazine “apparently to curry favor with the Trump administration.”
A CBS News spokesman did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment.
CBS News terminated the “60 Minutes” veteran after the journalist and executives felt they could not find a way to work together following a heated public argument Monday between Pelley and Nick Bilton, the former tech journalist installed last week by editorial chief Bari Weiss, who also dispatched the show’s most senior producers as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Pelley is the fourth “60 Minutes” reporter to leave the venerable newsmagazine since February, leaving just a trio — Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim — to handle assignments as the show prepares to get stories ready for its 59th season in the fall.
