Longtime CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley clashed with top editor Bari Weiss, who has shaken up the news network.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Free Press
Top leaders at CBS News both praised and blamed "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley in a morning meeting the day after firing him, according to a recording obtained by Business Insider.Pelley was dismissed by CBS News on Tuesday after sparring with his new boss — "60 Minutes" top producer Nick Bilton — and calling out CBS News top editor Bari Weiss.Weiss told staffers on Wednesday morning's editorial call that the network "had to part ways" with Pelley after their foundation of trust was "broken.""I know I speak for myself, and I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that I'm only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect," Weiss said on the call. "We cannot do our work without it."Weiss continued: "Despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately, we weren't able to do so, and so we had to part ways. We did not want that to happen, but that's the path that he chose."Weiss said Pelley's legacy at CBS News, where he worked for more than 30 years, won't be marred by how his tenure ended."That unfortunate outcome does not discount from the amazing contributions and work that Scott Pelley has done for CBS and for '60 Minutes' over the course of his career," Weiss said. She then listed some of his top stories from this past season, like his reporting on Havana syndrome and an interview with former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse.
