Longtime journalist blasts ’60 Minutes’ after firing for currying favor with Trump: ‘Heartbreaking’
He released a statement Tuesday night.
Mason Reed 
Veteran journalist Scott Pelley is speaking out following his abrupt termination from 60 Minutes this past Tuesday. The 68-year-old newsman claims his departure is tied to the program's recent shift in editorial direction, alleging the show is prioritizing efforts to curry favor with the Trump administration.
A Heartbreaking Departure
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Pelley lamented the current state of the network. "When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects," he wrote. "Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. The waste is heartbreaking."
Conflict Behind the Scenes
The New York Times first reported on Pelley's firing, which followed a heated meeting with the program's new executive producer, Nick Bilton. Reports also indicate that Pelley accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the long-running show.
Pelley's termination is just the latest in a series of controversial exits. "Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause," Pelley stated. "Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos."
Among the claims made by the veteran journalist, Pelley alleged that politicians have been "invited" to select which correspondents conduct their interviews, a departure from the show's established standards. As 205focus.com continues to monitor this evolving story, the fallout from these leadership changes remains a focal point for the network.
