Why these '60 Minutes' correspondents are staying after Scott Pelley fired
Why these '60 Minutes' correspondents are staying after Scott Pelley fired
Edward Segarra, USA TODAY Fri, June 5, 2026 at 8:23 PM UTC
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These longtime correspondents at "60 Minutes" are revealing their future plans with the embattled newscast following the firing of their colleague Scott Pelley.
Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim confirmed they will remain on the CBS program in a memo shared with staff and obtained by USA TODAY on Friday, June 5.
"We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay," the trio said, adding that they "feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure."
"That is simply, categorically not the case," the correspondents continued. "Here's why we are staying: We don't want to see '60 Minutes' die."
Bill Whitaker, second from left, and Lesley Stahl, right, pose with "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager, second from right, while attending the 77th annual Peabody Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 19, 2018.
The remarks come after Pelley, 68, was fired from the Emmy-winning show earlier this week after more than two decades on the air. Pelley's termination stemmed from an internal dispute with CBS leadership, USA TODAY learned Tuesday, June 2, which left him without severance or other benefits effective immediately.
During a heated staff meeting, Pelley accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the news institution, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times and reported Monday, June 1. Tensions also flared with new "60 Minutes" executive producer Nick Bilton.
Why was Scott Pelley fired? Explaining recent '60 Minutes' controversy
In a statement to USA TODAY Friday, a CBS News spokesperson said the network is "excited for Season 59 [of '60 Minutes'] with Lesley, Bill and Jon as star correspondents and Nick at the helm." The new season will reportedly debut on Sept. 13.
Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim also made clear their disappointment with the recent mass firings at CBS, dubbed "Black Thursday" by the industry. Aside from Pelley's termination, a slew of other "60 Minutes" staffers have been let go, including longtime executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
"We're still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya and Draggan, strong leaders who everyone respected," the correspondents said in their memo. "As far as we can tell − because no explanation has ever been offered − they were expelled because they fought for our '60 Minutes' values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity."
They added: "Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at '60.' [Show creator] Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud passionate advocacy for our pieces."
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Scott Pelley speaks out: Former '60 Minutes' anchor addresses CBS firing
In a statement released Wednesday, June 3, the day after his firing was made public, Pelley called the changes taking place at "60 Minutes" and CBS "heartbreaking." The award-winning broadcast journalist also detailed shocking allegations about recent happenings at the network, including being instructed by "new management" to "inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story."
Additionally, Pelley lamented the termination of his former colleagues, who he described as "good people" who were "silenced" and "cruelly fired without cause."
"They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias," Pelley said. "They stood for professionalism against chaos."
Industry unions slam 'shocking' firings at '60 Minutes'
Two major labor unions in the entertainment industry, the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America, are speaking out against the firings that have taken place at "60 Minutes."
"SAG-AFTRA condemns CBS News management's continued assault on the foundations of CBS News," SAG-AFTRA said in a statement Thursday, June 4. "The company's latest decision to terminate several veteran journalists from '60 Minutes' is shocking."
The union added: "Like all workers, journalists have the right under federal law to speak up on behalf of their colleagues about workplace concerns without fear of employer retaliation or punitive action. SAG-AFTRA is prepared to take and support any and all legal actions related to the company's conduct over the last several weeks."
Tom Fontana, president of WGA's sister union the Writers Guild of America East, said in a Thursday letter that the recent developments at CBS News are "more than mere ideological interference with the news" and "display a profound contempt for the journalism profession," according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It is clear that CBS brass is engaged in a near-constant level of editorial interference that would have previously been unthinkable," Fontana said.
This story has been to add new information.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo and Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: '60 Minutes' stars Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, Jon Wertheim to stay
Source: “AOL Breaking”
