• by Wayne Friedman , June 3, 2026

CBS' “60 Minutes” -- the leading television news show with the highest Nielsen-measured viewership -- has fired its highest-profile on-air correspondent Scott Pelley.

This comes amid massive change at "60 Minutes" and staff departures, under the leadership of CBS Editor in Chief Bari Weiss.

Weiss -- who was hired by Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News -- came to the position with no background in TV journalism, and according to critics has limited journalistic experience.

The firing came after a contentious staff meeting with Nick Bilton, the new executive producer of “60 Minutes,” who also came to the show with limited journalism experience and no traditional broadcast news experience.

In the introductory meeting with the staff on Monday, Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” the show. Reports said staffers gave Pelley a standing ovation.

Pelley is the most awarded correspondent in the history of "60 Minutes." He has won more than 50 Emmy Awards over the course of his career in broadcast journalism.

“60 Minutes” has won more awards than any other prime-time or broadcast news program in television history.

Pelley was fired on Tuesday evening. After the incident, on a call with the “60 Minutes” staff early today, Weiss said: “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.”

In a statement by Pelley, among other complaints, he said: “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.”... He added: "Giving politicians control over '60 Minutes' interviews is not how this is done."

Pelley's firing comes after the recent firing of two other award-winning on-air correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Other producers were let go as well.

In Febuary, Anderson Cooper -- the CNN host and “60 Minutes” on-air correspondent -- said he was departing from the show.

Last year, “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Bill Owens departed, citing concerns about editorial independence. Wendy McMahon, a CBS News chief executive, also resigned due to disagreements over the network’s direction.

Season-to-date ratings of “60 Minutes” are at 9.1 million average viewers, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement. 

"60 Minutes" is the third-highest-viewed non-sports show on television, after CBS’s “Tracker” and CBS’s “Marshals.”