"60 Minutes" announces new correspondents and contributors
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- "60 Minutes" announced new correspondents and contributors, including Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, and Trevor Phillips.
- Norah O'Donnell, previously a contributing correspondent, will expand her role and become a full correspondent.
- The additions aim to bring diverse perspectives and established journalistic talent to the long-running news program.
The venerable news program "60 Minutes" is expanding its roster with the addition of several prominent journalists as new correspondents and contributors. Executive producer Nick Bilton announced Tuesday that Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, and Trevor Phillips will join the broadcast, bolstering a team that includes veteran correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim.
Norah is a powerhouse. You've seen her all over the network. She's launched a new podcast. And you'll see much more of her in our halls because Norah will be a correspondent on 60 Minutes.
Norah O'Donnell, who has served as a contributing correspondent, will significantly increase her involvement, taking on a full correspondent role. Bilton lauded O'Donnell as a "powerhouse," highlighting her extensive network presence, new podcast launch, and increased visibility within the "60 Minutes" newsroom.
Ross Douthat, a well-known opinion columnist for The New York Times, joins as a correspondent. Bilton described Douthat as a "preeminent public intellectual" whose interviews with figures like Vice President JD Vance and Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett are characterized by "rigor" and "deep empathy," producing "expansive and probing and news making" conversations.
Ross is one of the preeminent public intellectuals in America today, a thinker of uncommon rigor and a journalist of deep empathy.
Sebastian Junger, celebrated author of "The Perfect Storm" and an award-winning documentary filmmaker, will contribute to the program. Bilton recalled Junger's "electric charge" in reported nonfiction and his "intense and intimate form of storytelling," noting his transition of that "intensity and ethos of deep reporting" to documentary filmmaking and war correspondence.
We all remember The Perfect Storm. It landed with an electric charge in the world of reported nonfiction, defining an intense and intimate form of storytelling and establishing Sebastian as a generational talent.
Gianna Toboni, formerly with VICE News and CNN, is also joining as a contributor. Bilton praised her "extraordinary range," citing her interviews with ISIS members, investigations into cartel violence, and "compassionate and incisive reporting" on issues such as mass shootings and the death penalty. Trevor Phillips, a respected UK broadcaster and former Sky News presenter, will contribute as CBS News' new senior global affairs correspondent, bringing his ability to ask "the toughest questions" and hold power accountable.
Gianna is a journalist with extraordinary range. She's interviewed members of ISIS and investigated cartel violence in Mexico. She's also been recognized for her compassionate and incisive reporting on complex social and cultural issues, including America's mass shootings and the death penalty, about which she wrote an investigative book, The Volunteer: The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity.
Originally published by CBS News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.