WASHINGTON, D.C. — CBS fired Scott Pelley from a long-running news program on Tuesday night after he clashed with new executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting the previous day. Bilton cited insubordination in Pelley’s firing notice, writing that Pelley 'hijacked the meeting' and that his 'antipathy to the future of the show came through loud and clear.'
Pelley stated he was defending the integrity of the program’s journalism and its foundational principles when he objected to changes proposed by new leadership. In a statement shared with NPR, he accused CBS News leadership of trying to 'inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story' and to 'include assertions that are unverified.' He also accused CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss of attempting to 'murder' the program.
The firing follows a wave of departures from the program. Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi were fired last week, along with a producer and two executives, including former executive producer Tanya Simon. Simon had taken over after her predecessor resigned in protest before Larry and David Ellison bought Paramount, CBS’s parent company, in the summer of 2025.
Under Simon’s leadership, the program’s ratings rose by 9% over the past season. Now, following Pelley’s dismissal, only three correspondents remain: Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim. According to two associates with knowledge of their discussions, those remaining correspondents are considering resigning.
Bilton, who has no prior experience in television news, previously worked as a tech reporter and executive-produced a Netflix documentary about Bitcoin laundering. At his first staff meeting with the program on Monday, he attempted a conciliatory tone but was rebuffed by Pelley, who called him unwelcome and unqualified. Weiss, installed as CBS News editor in chief by David Ellison in October 2025, has argued that CBS and mainstream media are too reflexively anti-Trump, anti-Israel, and 'too woke.' She and Bilton say they respect the program’s traditions but believe it must be overhauled to remain relevant in the face of digital competition.
Pelley told a newspaper, 'I have been in combat in Afghanistan. I have been in combat in Iraq. I have been in the war zone in Ukraine multiple times, risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast.' Over his career, he reported from conflict zones including Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine, and received a Peabody Award for his investigation into the killings of Iraqi civilians in Haditha.