Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Leadership of Bias and Falsehoods
After his dismissal on Tuesday, Scott Pelley has called out CBS News management, particularly editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, for allegedly trying to inject “falsehoods and bias” into the network’s reporting.
Pelley, who spent 37 years at CBS News and became a well-known figure on “60 Minutes,” made several unusual allegations against the leadership without diving into specifics.
“I’ve been directed by the new management to inject lies and bias into politically sensitive stories,” Pelley stated. He also mentioned that he was instructed to include unverified claims in his reports.
Pelley insisted that he had resisted these directives until now. “Up until now, I have managed to ignore or refuse these instructions,” he said.
He suggested that editorial decisions were being influenced by politicians. “Recently, politicians have been asked to select correspondents for broadcast interviews,” Pelley commented. “This is not the way to handle ’60 Minutes.'”
This claim seems to refer to a recent report stating that Weiss allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to choose CBS correspondent Major Garrett for an interview, despite “60 Minutes” correspondent Leslie Stahl expressing a desire to conduct it for months.
Garrett’s interview aired on “60 Minutes,” even though he isn’t a full-time correspondent for the program.
In his first public comments since his firing, Pelley criticized the current leadership, claiming that “the erosion of values at the top has become intolerable” following the dismissal of several senior producers and correspondents.
“60 Minutes lost its DNA last month when our entire senior leadership team and two of our best correspondents were unceremoniously fired,” he expressed in an Instagram statement early Wednesday. “Good people were silenced for standing up for our audience. They fought for fairness against political bias and professionalism amid chaos.”
This follows Pelley’s confrontation with new “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting, where he accused Weiss of “killing 60 Minutes” and claimed she was intentionally brought in to do so.
Pelley’s firing capped off a tumultuous week for CBS News, which also saw the resignations of executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, senior executive producer Dragan Mihailovic, veteran producer Guy Campanile, and staffer Matthew Polvoy.
Pelley condemned management’s “incompetence and unprofessionalism” for creating turmoil in the newsroom, noting how one incident regarding an article ended mere minutes after the program aired.
He also criticized Paramount Skydance, asserting that the company is “clearly” attempting to win favor with the Trump administration while undermining “60 Minutes.”
Despite the contentious circumstances of his departure, Pelley concluded his statement on a positive note. “After 37 years at CBS, I am filled with gratitude to the people at CBS News who have encouraged and enriched my work,” he stated.
CBS News has not yet responded to requests for comment.
