CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss reportedly defended firing longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley during a conference call Wednesday, insisting she wanted a newsroom “built on trust and mutual respect,” adding that the “foundation was broken” after the veteran journalist’s outburst at a meeting with incoming executive producer Nick Bilton on Tuesday.
Scott Pelley attends the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California.
In comments first reported by The Guardian, Weiss said her staff tried to “engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back,” but ultimately was unable to find common ground.
“We did not want that to happen, but that's the path that he chose,” Weiss said, before praising him for his work on “unforgettable stories,” naming a recent report on Havana Syndrome and an interview with former Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who is suffering from metastatic pancreatic cancer.
CBS News president and executive editor Tom Cibrowski also spoke on the call, calling the journalist “an integral part” of the network and acknowledged the ongoing changes were “a lot to process.”
