Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim said they will remain with the storied newsmagazine “for now” — even as they blasted CBS News leadership under Bari Weiss and warned that “newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships.”
The trio confirmed they had decided to stay at the program following weeks of turmoil that culminated in the firing of Scott Pelley and the departures of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich and several top producers.
“We don’t want to see ’60 Minutes’ die,” the trio wrote in a memo obtained by The Post.
The decision comes after intense speculation that Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim could follow Pelley out the door following the recent bloodbath at the iconic newsmagazine.
Their statement, however, made clear that staying should not be interpreted as support for CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss or the network’s recent actions.
“We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure,” they wrote.
“That is simply, categorically not the case.”
The trio said they were “deeply upset” by the departures of Simon and Mihailovich and suggested the pair had been pushed out for defending the show’s core values.
“As far as we can tell — because no explanation has ever been offered — they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity,” the correspondents wrote.
The correspondents also condemned the way their former colleagues were treated, saying they were “sorry” that “principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency,” and arguing that Simon and Mihailovich deserved to be “celebrated, not cruelly cast off.”
The journalists also defended Alfonsi, Vega and Pelley, calling them “at the top of the world of TV journalism.”
“Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships,” they added.
Still, the correspondents struck a more conciliatory tone toward newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton, saying they were “working to build trust” with him and were encouraged by his recent pledge that “60 Minutes” would remain editorially independent.
Despite their anger over the recent firings, the correspondents signaled a willingness to give Bilton a chance.
They said they were “working to build trust with Nick” and were encouraged by the promotion of veteran producer Maria Gavrilovic, adding that they had heard “all the right things” in Bilton’s recent memo pledging editorial independence.
The trio stressed that their support was conditional, writing that management must now put those promises into practice.
“If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is — committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling — we’re here for it,” they wrote. “If not, we leave.”
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