It says something about how well things aren’t going at Bari Weiss’ CBS News these days that the biggest win the organization has scored in public this week—convincing veteran 60 Minutes journalists Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim to stay on at the series amidst ongoing institutional chaos—arrives alongside a letter containing the phrase “Newsrooms are not supposed to run like dictatorships,” and a general sentiment of how much all three TV news vets still think their new bosses absolutely suck. Sure, it’s a victory, of sorts (at least, if you buy into the basic idea that Weiss’ goal is to keep one of the most respected news shows on the planet running.) But it sure did come with a lot of shade attached.
Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim were not shy about any of this: In a memo sent to the show’s staff, they open by stating that they’ve had “a hard time” deciding whether to leave en masse after their colleague Scott Pelley was fired this week, beginning the letter with a litany memorializing their recently axed coworkers: Producers Tanya Simon, Guy Campanile, and Draggan Mihailovich, fellow host Pelley, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, and more. “We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair, and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency,” the trio wrote. “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.”
Acknowledging worries that staying on “might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure,” the three went on to explicitly say that they’re sticking with the show out of a desperate desire to simply not see it die. (Stahl said something similar last year, when reflecting on the resignation of former executive producer Bill Owens, who explicitly asked his staff not to resign with him amidst statements that the show’s corporate overlords were putting pressure on the newsroom.) They also acknowledged new boss Nick Bilton’s statements earlier this week about maintaining the show’s independence—a major target in Pelley’s blow-up with the new executive producer on Monday, which led to his firing on Tuesday—albeit with a pretty obvious ultimatum attached: “If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is—committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling—we’re here for it. If not, we leave.”
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