Scott Pelley was fired on Tuesday after vocally opposing Bari Weiss and CBS News on Monday for their attempts to force reporting at “60 Minutes” to a pro-MAGA bias.
Pelley was having none of it, and accused Weiss of murdering “60 Minutes” when the network had repeatedly instructed him to “inject falsehoods and bias” and “include assertions that are unverified.”
On Wednesday, Weiss spoke to network employees about the firing of Pelley, saying that newsroom leaders could not “find a way back” with the veteran journalist.
“I hope I speak, I know I speak for myself, and I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect. We cannot do our work without it,” Weiss told CBS News employees Wednesday. “That foundation was broken on Monday, and 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… We did not want that to happen, but that’s the path that he chose,” Weiss added.
Pelley was not willing to go quietly.
“I’m saddened to see the transcript of the CBS News morning editorial meeting. Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true.”
Pelley’s statement clarified that CBS was not interested in “finding a way back.”
Pelley said he pressed Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski during their Tuesday meeting on the decision to cut ties with other “60 Minutes” team members Tanya Simon, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. He said she repeatedly replied, “I’m not answering that question.” CBS leadership has not addressed the loss of their colleagues with remaining staff.
Pelley says CBS leadership was “openly hostile from the start” of Wednesday’s meeting and suggested firing him in the first 15 seconds — not exactly looking to find a way back.
David Ellison, whose Skydance Media took over CBS parent company, Paramount, in an $8 billion merger, looks set to expand his media empire with a $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent of CNN and HBO. The deal still needs sign-off from federal regulators.