Bari Weiss Takes the Reins at "60 Minutes" as CBS News Reshapes Its Prime-Time Voice
In its fifty-ninth season, which launched in September, "60 Minutes" is undergoing a transformation led by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who is also the former Opinion editor at The New York Times and the founder of The Free Press. Under the guidance of executive producer Nick Bilton, Weiss has brought on conservative writer Ross Douthat. Last summer, Paramount, CBS's parent company, merged with David Ellison's Skydance Media. Weiss intends to reflect the views of "the seventy-five per cent" from both the center right and left, sidelining personalities like Tucker Carlson and Hasan Piker. The season kicked off with a story about a fighter pilot downed in Iran, featuring Douthat's interview with Senator Thom Tillis and a report by Lesley Stahl on the Hilltop Youth in the West Bank. CBS has refuted claims of internal disputes.
Key facts
- Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press and former New York Times Opinion editor, is editor-in-chief of CBS News
- "60 Minutes" began its fifty-ninth season in September under executive producer Nick Bilton, hired from the Times
- Paramount completed a merger with Skydance Media, founded by David Ellison, last summer
- Weiss said at the Jewish Leadership Conference she aims to "speak for the seventy-five per cent" and marginalize Hasan Piker and Tucker Carlson
- Ross Douthat, formerly a Times opinion columnist, is a new on-air hire; he interviewed Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina
- Status reported contentious internal screenings of Lesley Stahl's West Bank segment on the Hilltop Youth, with Weiss taking a hands-on editing role; CBS News denied the report
- Cecilia Vega, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Scott Pelley have all been fired since Weiss took over
- The 1968 Mike Wallace interview with Coretta Scott King in Atlanta aired the year Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis
Entities
Artists
- Mike Wallace
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Coretta Scott King
- Stokely Carmichael
- H. Rap Brown
- Eldridge Cleaver
- Huey P. Newton
- Bobby Seale
- David Ellison
- Larry Ellison
- Bari Weiss
- Hasan Piker
- Tucker Carlson
- Alan Dershowitz
- Dana Loesch
- Clare Malone
- Nick Bilton
- Norah O'Donnell
- Pete Hegseth
- Ross Douthat
- Thom Tillis
- Donald Trump
- Nidal Hasan
- John McCain
- Mitt Romney
- Lesley Stahl
- Cecilia Vega
- Sharyn Alfonsi
- Scott Pelley
Institutions
- CBS
- CBS News
- "60 Minutes"
- Paramount
- Skydance Media
- The New York Times
- The Free Press
- Jewish Leadership Conference
- Fox News
- N.R.A.
- The New Yorker
- Status
- NCIS
- The Price Is Right
Locations
- Atlanta
- United States
- Georgia
- Memphis
- Tennessee
- Iran
- North Carolina
- West Bank
- Israel
- Gaza