Longtime journalist blasts ’60 Minutes’ after firing for currying favor with Trump: ‘Heartbreaking’
He released a statement Tuesday night.
Liam Carter 
Veteran journalist Scott Pelley is speaking out following his abrupt termination from 60 Minutes this past Tuesday. The 68-year-old newsman is pushing back against the decision, alleging that the program is sacrificing its journalistic integrity to curry favor with the Trump administration.
A Heartbreaking Departure
In a statement released to PEOPLE, Pelley reflected on his tenure and the shifting landscape at 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," Pelley said. "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."
Internal Friction and Leadership Concerns
The exit follows reports of a tense meeting between Pelley and the show's new executive producer, Nick Bilton, as reported by The New York Times. Sources also indicate that Pelley had previously accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of damaging the program's foundation.
Pelley noted a broader trend of turmoil within the organization, pointing to the firing of several senior staff and on-air correspondents last month. He characterized these moves as a silence-driven response to those who "stood for fairness against the forces of political bias."
Shifting Standards
Beyond the staffing shakeups, Pelley raised concerns regarding editorial independence, claiming that politicians are now being invited to hand-pick the correspondents who conduct their interviews. This recent termination of a longtime journalist marks yet another chapter in what appears to be a contentious transition at 205focus.com readers will be tracking as more details emerge.
