CBS “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley reportedly criticized CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, saying she needed to take her job “more seriously” following backlash over her decision to pull a “60 Minutes” segment just hours before it was scheduled to air last month.
A report published Monday by The New Yorker described growing tensions inside the network since Weiss formally assumed the top editorial role in October. Weiss took charge through the company’s new structure under Paramount Skydance and CEO David Ellison. According to the report, the friction intensified after Weiss abruptly removed a segment focused on migrants allegedly sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, despite it being slated to air that night.
The report described a staff meeting the following day, where Pelley allegedly voiced frustration with how the decision was handled—particularly Weiss’ lack of direct engagement with the story ahead of time.
During that meeting, Pelley reportedly complained that Weiss hadn’t attended screenings of the segment or communicated directly with “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. “She needs to take her job a little bit more seriously,” he allegedly said.
The report suggested the remarks represented a sharper stance than Pelley’s public comments weeks earlier, when he said the program had experienced minimal interference despite broader concerns about corporate changes.
On Dec. 12, Pelley said that during the prior season, “all of our stories got on the air” with “an absolute minimum of interference,” adding that staff had initially been worried about what the new Paramount structure might mean for the show.
“It’s early yet,” he said at the time, “but what I can tell you is, we are doing the same kinds of stories with the same kind of rigor, and have experienced no corporate interference of any kind.”
The New Yorker report also claimed a former CBS staffer wrote an open letter to Ellison warning of what they described as “a breakdown in editorial oversight” tied to Weiss’ decision. An anonymous former CBS executive, speaking to the publication, reportedly argued that pulling the segment exposed the network to accusations of “corporate interference.”
“It makes you wonder, did someone call once they saw the promo on the air, and then she spent more time on it because there was some big complaint?” the executive reportedly said.
Sources cited in the report said Weiss later acknowledged she hadn’t fully understood the timing and workflow of “60 Minutes” marketing and promotions, and that she recognized a need for stronger executive discipline as she adjusts to the role.
The segment at the center of the controversy—titled “Inside CECOT”—ultimately aired Sunday night.
