\n With a shellshocked staff and several open correspondent offices, newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton is trying to find a way forward for \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The past week of dreadful headlines has shown that many people doubt Bilton and Bari Weiss can uphold the newsmagazine\u2019s reputation. Some believe that\u2019s by design \u2014 that the show has been poisoned on purpose. Scott Pelley sure thinks so.\n <\/p>\n
\n A CBS spokesperson rebutted that in a new statement yesterday. But the real statement will come in September when the new season of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d premieres.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe\u2019re acutely aware that the premiere has to be a banger,\u201d a well-placed CBS source remarked to me.\n <\/p>\n
\n Right now, it remains unclear whether the three remaining correspondents \u2014 Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim \u2014 will return for Season 59. The CBS News management team is working hard to convince them to stay.\n <\/p>\n
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\n As Status first reported<\/a>, the trio met for more than an hour yesterday to talk through everything that\u2019s happened since last Thursday, when Tanya Simon and other top producers were ousted along with Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.\n <\/p>\n \n Pelley, Alfonsi and Vega have all levied charges of editorial interference by CBS bosses. So the remaining correspondents want and need assurances.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere is no political interference at CBS News, not from ownership, not from Bari Weiss,\u201d a CBS spokesperson said. \u201cThe only \u2018interference\u2019 is the normal back and forth between editor and correspondent that happens in every newsroom.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Behind the scenes, I\u2019m told that Bilton has been holding back-to-back meetings with correspondents and producers, acknowledging the awful state of affairs at the show and committing to turning things around.\n <\/p>\n \n A very optimistic CBS source told me it\u2019s \u201cfull speed ahead\u201d at the show. It basically h\ufeffas to be; the Season 59 premiere date is September 13. (Last year, the premiere date was September 28, but it\u2019s two weeks earlier this year owing to the NFL schedule.)\n <\/p>\n \n Veterans of the show \u2014 who know what it takes to produce three mini-documentaries a week \u2014 are skeptical, to say the least.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt seems almost impossible for me to imagine what kind of a show they can put on in September,\u201d former \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Steve Kroft told<\/a> New York magazine\u2019s Michael Calderone.\n <\/p>\n \n But someone must imagine it. So producers are brainstorming investigations for the forthcoming season. Agents are pitching clients for the open correspondent roles. Editors are getting back to work on the summertime episodes that feature repurposed stories from last season. (It\u2019s unclear if any of Pelley\u2019s stories will re-air.)\n <\/p>\n \n Staffers might be wondering what the new boss wants. So I think this is an important bit of reporting: Bilton has welcomed story pitches about President Trump and the Trump administration, and several such stories are in the early stages of development for Season 59, two of the sources said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBari and Bilton have something to prove,\u201d The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Alex Weprin remarked<\/a> about the \u201c60 Minutes\u201d reboot.\n <\/p>\n![\"Newly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gettyimages-1048128750.jpg\")
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