Everyone Who Has Been Fired or Resigned from CBS News and “60 Minutes ”Since Bari Weiss Took Over
Everyone Who Has Been Fired or Resigned from CBS News and “60 Minutes ”Since Bari Weiss Took Over
Joseph KonigWed, June 3, 2026 at 9:39 PM UTC
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'60 Minutes' alums Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper and Sharyn AlfonsiCredit: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Warner Bros. Discovery; Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty
On Monday, June 1, news started to leak out of CBS News' Manhattan headquarters that longtime 60 Minutescorrespondent Scott Pelley had torn into his network's leadership for what he called a lack of qualifications, "catastrophic" stewardship of the 58-year-old broadcast, and the purging of capable journalists for seemingly political purposes.
By the evening of Tuesday, June 2, Pelley was fired. The veteran journalist had been reporting stories for the network's flagship newsmagazine for nearly a quarter of a century.
'60 Minutes' correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, L. Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega, and Anderson Cooper in 2023Credit: Jai Lennard/CBS News via Getty
Pelley reportedly told newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton in the Monday staff meeting that Bari Weiss, who was installed as CBS News' editor-in-chief last year, was "murdering 60 Minutes," adding, "She does not love this place, she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that," according to The New York Times.
Weiss, a former NYT opinion journalist who founded the media startup The Free Press, was placed atop CBS News after CBS' parent company, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media, prompting CEO David Ellison, a billionaire and ally of President Donald Trump, to seek a new direction for his new properties.
Paramount Skydance is now seeking a $111 billion merger with CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, sparking concerns of similar purges there.
Bari Weiss, CBS News' editor-in-chief, interviews Erika Kirk on a special broadcast that aired Dec. 13.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
Pelley's firing at the start of June was far from the first significant departure at the storied news network under the leadership of Weiss. Here's a look at the major figures who have moved on or been ousted from CBS News and 60 Minutes since new leadership took over.
01 of 13
Scott Pelley
Scott Pelley.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
Scott Pelley was the latest casualty of Weiss' reign, getting axed by her and Nick Bilton, the new 60 Minutes executive producer, in June 2026 after accusing Weiss of "murdering 60 Minutes" and saying Bilton, a tech journalist, has "slender qualifications for this job" in a staff meeting.
In a scathing statement obtained by PEOPLE following his firing, Pelley accused CBS leadership of attempting to "curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration."
Bilton penned a termination letter that accused the 37-year CBS News veteran of "performative display[s] of hostility" and having "no interest in contributing to the future success of the show."
Related: 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley Blasts New Exec for Allegedly Currying Favor with Trump in Scathing Statement After Firing
02 of 13
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper attends the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2026 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 13.Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Warner Bros. Discovery
A longtime CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper moonlighted as a 60 Minutes correspondent for nearly 20 years.
In May 2026, Cooper bid the program farewell and cited his desire to spend time with his young children.
"I think the independence of 60 Minutes has been critical," Cooper said in a May 17 60 Minutes Overtime segment that served as his send-off. "And I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of 60 Minutes."
Related: Anderson Cooper Marks His Final 60 Minutes After 20 Years with Emotional Goodbye Message: 'I Will Miss This'
03 of 13
Sharyn Alfonsi
Sharyn Alfonsi.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty
Sharyn Alfonsi was forced out of 60 Minutes in May 2026 following a months-long battle with Weiss and CBS bosses that began with the temporary spiking of her 60 Minutes report on the notorious El Salvador prison known as "CECOT," where Trump's administration was deporting immigrants.
CBS News let the nine-year 60 Minutes veteran's contract expire and Alfonsi placed the blame squarely on Weiss, describing the choice to shunt her to the side as one that "sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom."
"I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting," Alfonsi told The New York Times.
At the time that Alfonsi's CECOT story was postponed, Weiss defended her decision, saying in a statement, "Holding stories that aren't ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom."
Related: Longtime 60 Minutes Correspondent Admits She Could Be Fired for Speaking Out Against Bari Weiss' 'Corporate Meddling'
04 of 13
Cecilia Vega
Cecilia Vega at the 2026 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington on April 25.Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
The same day Alfonsi's contract expired, longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega — the first Latina correspondent in the show's history — wrote on Instagram that she had been "fired" despite her contract not being set to expire until March 2027.
"Let's call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven," Vega wrote. "It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy."
Related: 60 Minutes Shocking Shakeups: Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi Both Ousted as Executive Producer Is Replaced
05 of 13
Tanya Simon
Tanya Simon, former executive producer of 60 Minutes.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
In May 2026, Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski ousted 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon alongside Alfonsi and Vega. Simon had stepped into the role when Bill Owens resigned as EP over Paramount's shifting editorial priorities the year prior. She was replaced with Bilton in a chain of events that quickly led to Pelley's fiery departure.
Simon is the daughter of iconic longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, who died in 2015.
06 of 13
Scott MacFarlane
Scott MacFarlane, former CBS News correspondent.Credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/CBS via Getty
CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane left the network in March 2026 for the liberal outlet MeidasTouch, writing that "this is my decision, and I appreciate the bosses at CBS for understanding it."
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Related: Scott MacFarlane Exits CBS as Justice Correspondent amid Network Shakeups
07 of 13
Mary Walsh
Mary Walsh attends the 47th Annual News Emmy Awards at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 27.Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty
After 46 years with the network, veteran producer Mary Walsh departed CBS News in February 2026. She accused the network's leadership of asserting a political bias into the newsroom's reporting.
"We've been reading a lot of goodbyes lately and here I am headed out the door. It's too soon, even after 46 years," Walsh wrote in a memo to colleagues, according to The Guardian. "But maybe it's for the best. We've been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum. Honestly, I don't know how to do that."
08 of 13
John Dickerson
Stephen Colbert and John Dickerson on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on May 20.Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty
After 16 years, John Dickerson departed CBS News as 2025 ended, finishing his tenure at the network as the co-anchor of CBS Evening News with Maurice Dubois after stints hosting Face the Nation and CBS Mornings, as well as contributing to 60 Minutes.
In July 2025, Dickerson spoke out against CBS' settling a lawsuit with Trump over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. The settlement came as Paramount was seeking the Trump administration's approval for its merger with Ellison's Skydance.
Related: CBS Evening News' John Dickerson Is Leaving Network After 16 Years Following Controversial Paramount Merger
09 of 13
Maurice DuBois
John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois report for CBS Evening News on Sept. 29, 2025.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
Maurice DuBois also departed CBS Evening News alongside Dickerson. The duo took over the program from Norah O'Donnell after the 2024 elections and were replaced by Tony Dokoupil.
"21 years altogether, including my time at WCBS-TV in New York City. What a privilege! To be welcomed into your homes night after night, delivering the news / meeting extraordinary people and telling their stories," DuBois wrote on Instagram in December 2025. "A couple weeks to go; until then, see you on The CBS Evening News every night at 6:30."
Related: Maurice DuBois Is Leaving CBS Evening News Weeks After Co-Anchor John Dickerson Announced His Departure
10 of 13
Lisa Ling
Lisa Ling on May 9 in Los Angeles.Credit: Presley Ann/Getty for Gold House
Former co-host of The View Lisa Ling, who became a CBS contributor in 2023, was laid off in October 2025, writing on Instagram that she was "among the massive layoffs at the network." More than 1,000 staffers were let go at the time, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Related: CBS News' Lisa Ling Breaks Silence on Her Dismissal After Massive Shakeup Impacts Top Network Talent
11 of 13
Michelle Miller
Former CBS Saturday Morning anchor Michelle Miller.Credit: Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty
Along with CBS Saturday Morning co-host Dana Jacobson, Michelle Miller said a tearful goodbye to their audience after seven years in November 2025.
"Every story I ever told has reminded me that change is not an ending; it's an evolution, and I might add, a chance to gain a brighter sense of belonging," Miller said during their final broadcast, according to Deadline.
The anchor team was part of the widespread CBS News layoffs after Weiss stepped in.
12 of 13
Dana Jacobson
Former CBS Saturday Morning anchor Dana Jacobson.Credit: Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty
When Miller and Jacobson were cut loose in November, Jacobson said that "it wasn't our choice to leave" as the hosts thanked their producers, crew, makeup artists and hair stylists.
After Pelley was fired in June 2026, Jacobson mourned the "unraveling" at CBS News and "our little engine that could CBS Saturday."
13 of 13
Other Departures
Lesley Stahl, Anderson Cooper, Scott Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Cecilia Vega, Jon Wertheim, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Bill Owens, from CBS News on Aug. 21, 2023.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
Numerous other journalists have departed CBS News since Paramount began pursuing its merger with Skydance, though not all cited the editorial decisions of the network and others were part of sizable layoffs.
60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens announced his departure from the program in April 2025, before the merger was finalized and new leadership was brought in, citing in a resignation memo obtained by several outlets an inability to "make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience."
"The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer," Owens reportedly wrote.
After CBS ousted more senior staffers in May 2026, Owens expressed frustration, according to Variety, saying, "CBS News and 60 Minutes are institutions, not places where partisans and ideologues should be employed."
Wendy McMahon, former president and co-head of CBS News and Stations.Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty
CBS News president and CEO Wendy McMahon also left the network after four years in May 2025, in protest of the company's handling of Trump's lawsuit.
"It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward," she wrote in a memo to her colleagues at the time, according to Deadline. "It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership."
In February 2026, CBS Evening News producer Alicia Hastey quit, writing in a note to colleagues that "stories may instead be evaluated not on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations," according to the Times.
In October 2025, mass layoffs also hit on-air reporters Elise Preston, Nancy Chen, Janet Shamlia, Nikki Battiste and Debora Patta, among others, according to The Independent.
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