CBS fires '60 Minutes' veteran Scott Pelley after editorial independence clash

Miami, June 3 (EFE) – CBS has terminated veteran '60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley for "just cause," a day after he publicly criticized the network's new leadership for eroding editorial independence. Pelley's dismissal on Tuesday has intensified scrutiny on CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and the controversial changes implemented this year.

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Your antipathy towards the future of the program has been made high and clear. And I have heard you.

In a letter to Pelley, newly appointed executive producer of '60 Minutes' Nick Bilton cited the correspondent's "antipathy towards the future of the program" as a reason for the termination. Bilton referenced a Monday staff meeting where Pelley questioned the recent layoffs of senior producers and correspondents, including Tanya Simon, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Cecilia Vega, the program's first Latina correspondent.

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It is a profound disappointment that you have rejected that outreach and instead opted for ambush.

Pelley, in a statement released after his dismissal, accused the new owners and management of dismantling the legacy of '60 Minutes' to curry favor with the Trump administration. He alleged that he had been instructed to include "falsehoods and biases in a politically sensitive story" and to "inject claims that have not been verified." Pelley stated that he had always managed to ignore or reject such instructions.

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There has never been anything in America like 60 Minutes. This Sunday tradition is the most successful program of any genre in history.

"There has never been anything in America like 60 Minutes. This Sunday tradition is the most successful program of any genre in history," Pelley asserted. He further criticized the new administration's alleged incompetence and stated that "good people were silenced for defending our audience."

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Now, the new owner of our network is sidelining this legend, apparently to gain a moment of favor with the Trump administration.