{"id":254163,"date":"2026-06-03T19:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/254163\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:52:18","slug":"cbs-news-boss-bari-weiss-defends-scott-pelley-firing-in-dramatic-all-hands-staff-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/254163\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS News boss Bari Weiss defends Scott Pelley firing in dramatic all-hands staff call"},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss addressed the firing of Scott Pelley during a staff meeting<\/a> Wednesday morning, telling employees that the network had no choice but to part ways with the veteran correspondent following his public confrontation with management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe foundation [of trust and mutual respect] was broken,\u201d Weiss said during the network\u2019s daily 9 a.m. editorial call, according to a recording obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way<\/a> back, unfortunately we weren\u2019t able to do so, and so we had to part ways,\u201d Weiss told staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not want that to happen, but that\u2019s the path that he chose.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss told staff that a \u201cfoundation\u201d of trust had been broken before the network decided to part ways with veteran correspondent Scott Pelley. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pelley subsequently rejected Weiss\u2019 characterization of their Tuesday meeting, joined by CBS News president Tom Cibrowski.<\/p>\n

\u201cBari Weiss knows what she said is not true,\u201d Pelley told the New York Times on Wednesday. \u201cIn the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to \u2018find a way back,\u2019 as Weiss said in the editorial meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution,\u201d Pelley asserted. \u201cWeiss and Tom Cibrowski were openly hostile from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pelley said that \u201cfiring\u201d was raised by Cibrowski \u201cin the first 15 seconds,\u201d reiterating that \u201ca way back\u201d was not suggested. <\/p>\n

Fired \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Scott Pelley accused CBS News leadership of trying to inject \u201cfalsehoods and bias\u201d into reporting after his departure from the network. 60 Minutes \/ YouTube<\/p>\n

\u201cTo say so now is disingenuous,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAnd they know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A network source disputed Pelley\u2019s characterization of the closed-door meeting. While top brass noted that Pelley\u2019s behavior was grounds for firing him, it also noted his long history at network, saying \u201cwe really want to talk to you about getting back on track and moving forward,\u201d according to a source close to CBS.<\/p>\n

The person added that leadership was \u201ctrying to figure something out,\u201d but that \u201cPelley walked into the room with a different point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiss\u2019 Wednesday morning remarks marked first direct comments to employees following Pelley\u2019s termination, which came a day after the longtime \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent publicly clashed with newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton<\/a> during a contentious staff meeting.<\/p>\n

CBS News president Tom Cibrowski (center) acknowledged that recent changes had been \u201ca lot to process\u201d for employees following a wave of departures that included correspondent Cecilia Vega (left). (Right: Alan Berger.) Getty Images for CAA<\/p>\n

Weiss nevertheless praised Pelley\u2019s body of work and highlighted several of his recent reports for \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat unfortunate outcome does not discount from the amazing contributions and work that Scott Pelley has done for CBS and for \u201860 Minutes\u2019 over the course of his career,\u201d Weiss said.<\/p>\n

She specifically cited Pelley\u2019s reporting on Havana Syndrome, his interview with former Sen. Ben Sasse and his story from Vietnam that featured him rappelling into one of the world\u2019s largest caves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are unforgettable stories,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cThey\u2019re the kind of stories that have always typified \u201860 Minutes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiss also sought to reassure staff about the future of the newsmagazine under Bilton, the former New York Times columnist and filmmaker she recently installed as executive producer after a sweeping overhaul that ousted several top producers and correspondents.<\/p>\n

Scott Pelley worked at CBS News for nearly 40 years before he was fired. CBS via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the kind of stories that Nick Bilton is going to put on the air come September in Season 59 with the amazing team that\u2019s still there and hopefully some new people that are going to be joining us,\u201d Weiss said.<\/p>\n

At Wednesday\u2019s all-hands meeting, Cibrowski echoed Weiss\u2019 praise of Pelley, calling him \u201can integral part of \u201860 Minutes,\u2019 the \u2018CBS Evening News\u2019 and this entire news organization for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis incredible body of work \u2026 will always be part of the history of CBS News,\u201d Cibrowski said.<\/p>\n

In his statement, Pelley detailed back-and-forth between him, Cibrowski and Weiss.<\/p>\n

Weiss shut down Pelley\u2019s questions about why specific \u201c60 Minutes\u201d staffers were recently fired by answering, \u201cI\u2019m not answering that question,\u201d according to the journo.<\/p>\n

Bari Weiss defended CBS\u2019 decision to let Scott Pelley go. Getty Images for The Free Press<\/p>\n

Pelley claimed Cibrowski abruptly ended the meeting by saying, \u201cThis conversation is over!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese executives cannot gain the trust of the staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything we stand for and reveals contempt for what journalists do,\u201d Pelley concluded.<\/p>\n

Cibrowski acknowledged that employees were struggling with the pace of change at the network.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that these events, developments, changes are a lot to process for every single person in this room and on this call,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd they are happening frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss addressed the firing of Scott Pelley during a staff meeting Wednesday morning, telling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16763,288,1871,2998,1208,9,11,10,98749],"class_list":["post-254163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-60-minutes","tag-business","tag-cbs","tag-cbs-news","tag-media","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-scott-pelley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}