Nick Bilton traveled to New York to meet Martin Scorsese about a screenplay adaptation from his forthcoming book with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on a Hawaiian crime syndicate. During the trip, he also met CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, whom he knew professionally from Los Angeles, and she assessed his interest in taking over 60 Minutes. Bilton said he proposed how he would present ideas and, after Weiss responded positively, he moved forward. Weiss’s selection of Bilton followed broader CBS News shakeups that included departures tied to 60 Minutes leadership and correspondents. Weiss has already made changes at CBS Evening News, and her appointment of Bilton signals major changes for 60 Minutes, a top-rated and prestigious program.
"“It was an unbelievable opportunity and I couldn't get it out of my head,” Bilton recalled Thursday, just hours after being named the iconic newsmagazine's new executive producer. “I said, look, I want to present my ideas to you and the way I would want to do it, and if you are interested in them, then we can move the conversation forward,” Bilton said in an interview. “And so I did and she loved them, and I have so many ideas and innovative ideas that I just cannot wait to bring to 60.”"
"Weiss's selection of Bilton sent shockwaves through the network, and coincided with a broader shakeup as CBS News cut ties with 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon, daughter of late 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, veteran executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharon Alfonsi, the latter who accused Weiss in December of making a “political” decision in abruptly pulling her report on a notorious El Salvadoran prison, one of several missteps throughout Weiss's seven-month tenure."
"Weiss has already made significant changes, like installing Tony Dokoupil as anchor of the CBS Evening News, but upending 60 Minutes is a far bigger risk. The evening newscast has been perennially in third place, whereas 60 Minutes is not only the network's most prestigious news show, but remains widely popular, averaging 9.1 million viewers this season. With Thursday's moves, Weiss is fully putting her stamp on the program, or as one CBS News staffer put it, “It's a full ho"
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