60 Minutes Staffer Says Bari Weiss Is Gutting' the Show Predicts, It's Over'

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss initiated major changes at 60 Minutes, including allowing Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract to expire after she criticized delays tied to a report on an El Salvador prison camp holding migrants. Executive Producer Tanya Simon and correspondent Cecilia Vega were also removed, along with Executive Editor Draggan Mihailovich. Anderson Cooper left after declining to renew his contract. Nick Bilton was named new executive producer. The shakeup followed earlier departures, including Bill Owens quitting more than a year earlier. Staff accounts described tears, heartbreak, and anger toward Weiss and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, with claims that the program was being gutted and could not function afterward.

"This month, the network allowed correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi's contract to expire without renewing it after she criticized Weiss for delaying her report on an infamous prison camp in El Salvador, where the Trump administration sent hundreds of migrants. The New York Post reported that Alfonsi has lawyered up. On Thursday, Executive Producer Tanya Simon and correspondent Cecilia Vega were also shown the door, as was Executive Editor Draggan Mihailovich."

"Hours after the news broke, Oliver Darcy of Status reported on the discontent behind the scenes, citing more than half a dozen people inside 60 Minutes, who slammed Weiss and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who acquired Paramount and its subsidiary CBS last year. One anonymous staffer declared the program is dead, or at least close to it: Tears flowed openly in the newsroom."

"Staffers exchanged texts expressing not only heartbreak, but genuine anger at Weiss and Ellison for upending a program they treasure. They're gutting us, one 60 Minutes staffer told Status. It's over. I don't see how 60' will be able to function after this. Goodnight and good luck, motherfuckers, the staffer added."

"Everyone100% thought Tanya and Draggan did exemplary jobs, another senior 60 Minutes staffer told Status. It hurts. We feel violated. Darcy also spoke with Owens, the former executive producer. They're killing 60 Minutes, Owens said."

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